HOW IYABO OJO ENTRAPS FAKE CHANNELS TV REPORTER NABBED IN LAGOS

A 33-year-old father of one, identified as Adeshina Adams, who had been allegedly parading himself as a staff of Channels Television has been arrested by the Police in Lagos.

It was gathered that Adams has been impersonating as a staff of Channels TV, covering events on behalf of the television station and defrauding unsuspecting people of their hard-earned money.

Crime Alert gathered that for some time now, the management of the popular television station received complaints from people who had been victims of the suspect’s nefarious activities.

However, trouble started for the impostor when he called a popular Yoruba actress named Iyabo Ojo, soliciting for a personality interview for her that would feature on Channels Television, and made some financial demands that the actress was expected to pay.

Unfortunately for him, he was unaware that the actress had contact with some officials at the TV station, who she immediately contacted to verify if anyone with the said name is a staff of the media house. The officials confirmed that they had no staff with that name. They collected his contact details from the actress.

Entrapment

Then sometime in August, the suspect allegedly entered into a deal with a prospective client and demanded for a personality interview. After necessary negotiations, he billed the prospective client N300,000 for the interview, which would be paid at the venue of the interview session.

Unknown to him that the media house has been on his trail for a while, the suspect and his crew members arrived at the scheduled venue where operatives of State Investigation Bureau (SIB) picked him and his crew members, made up of a cameraman and a reporter.

Defence

In his defence, Adams who claimed to be a trained cinematographer revealed that before he began to parade himself as a staff of the TV station, he had worked with the late Aromire of Yotomi TV. “I started parading myself as a staff of Channels Television last year. Usually, I go to any slated event or interview as a staff of Channels TV. But each time I am at an event and the real Channels staff come, I will leave. Most times, I would have collected the honorary before their staff arrive at the venue.

“I attended a cinematography school (name withheld) located within Egbeda area of Lagos. It was at the school I learnt basic skills of the job.

But all those events or interviews were never broadcast on any television station or Channels TV because I don’t work for them. I pay my crew members after each job. I promised to pay the reporter N10,000 after the interview before I was arrested that day.”

The wife of suspect, Mrs Adeshina Adams, who was initially angry that the client who contracted her husband for an interview was responsible for his arrest, had this to say: “My husband told me that he works with Channels TV? I didn’t know he was not employed by the station. And I believed him because he has a Channels TV identity card. I never for once suspected that he was impersonating. Please forgive him. It is a mistake. It won’t happen again.”

Crime Alert gathered that the male reporter who works with Sunshine TV as a freelance and the cameraman didn’t know that Adams was impersonating and defrauding people.