A man who allegedly sent threat messages to members of the Atiku Abubakar family has been arrested, the police said Wednesday.
Augustus Akpan, a 43-year-old multi-lingual native of Akwa Ibom State, was arrested in Lagos after police tracked the phone he used in sending the messages.
The Abubakars had reportedly petitioned the police last week, saying they were horrified by the messages and alleging threats to their lives.
Mr Abubakar, a presidential aspirant under the Peoples Democratic Party, was asked to drop out of the presidential race in one of the text messages sent to his family. The police, however, said the suspect confessed that the threat was only meant as a distraction, and not because his pestering conduct had political undertone.
Police spokesperson Jimoh Moshood said in a statement Wednesday night that Mr Akpan had owned up to defrauding many rich and affluent Nigerians in the course of his sinister plots, and he would be arraigned after investigation had been concluded.
A spokesperson for Mr Atiku said he could not immediately comment on the arrest. It was not immediately clear whether Mr Akpan had contacted a lawyer.
The full police statement, including the reproduced text messages which Mr Akpan allegedly sent to the Abubakars, can be read in full below:
PRESS BRIEFING
PARADE OF SUSPECTED KIDNAPPER AND NOTORIOUS FRAUDSTER WHO THREATENED FMR VICE PRESIDENT, ATIKU ABUBAKAR GCON, TO WITHDRAW FROM PRESIDENTIAL RACE OTHERWISE HE WILL KIDNAP, RAPE AND KILL HIS WIFE AND DAUGHTERS (MENTIONING THEIR NAMES)
Suspect
i. Augustus Akpan (From Edemaya village, Ikot Abasi LGA, Akwa Ibom State) 43Years
Exhibits
i. One (1) Samsung (Galaxy S6 Edge +) Mobile Phone and the SIM Card used by the suspect to send the threat messages to Fmr Vice President, Atiku Abubakar GCON, His wife and Daughter.
The Threat Text Messages
i. Text Message to Fmr Vice President, Alh. Atiku Abubakar GCON
“Turaki Atiku, we are watching you and your family, we ask you right now to withdraw from the race for Presidency, we will kill, rape your wife and daughters. That your ambitious and black daughter Maryam who worked at CBN and left because we were going to mess her up. We will molest, rape, deform her and kill her. Your daughter Fatimah the former Commissioner of Health in Adamawa State, we have a lot of information about her. Also pictures of her naked body, we will mess your overly prostitute wife Jennifer up. We have a lot about. Let Buhari run against your against your PDP members. We know that you are bigger than all those candidates in PDP. That is why we need you to step down. We will blow your plane off from the sky and we will poison you and your family. Atiku Abubakar, take our words for granted and watch what will happen to your family before you. You are going to see what we will do to you and your family. We know where and where your children travel to. We have watched your daughter who is a strong supporter of her father (your daughter Maryam) at number 5, Buzi close and number 5, Lake Maracaibo close”.
ii. Text Message to Wife of Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar GCON
“Jennifer. Tell your husband to step down. We will blow up his plane and kill all of you his family. We will rape you and all his daughters and also kill all of you out there. Do not underestimate us. We know your office at 13 Danube Street Maitama. We will blow up the place and rape all your step daughters that we know you don’t like already. Tell him to step down now and forget about running for the presidency’’
iii. Text Message to Daughter of Former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar GCON, Rukaiya Atiku
“Tell your dad to step down. He should forget about the Presidency. If he refuses, we will blow up his plane the Gulf Stream from the sky and also rape you and kill of his daughters. No amount of Police or protection will stop us. We know where all of you live in. We know number 5 Buzi close and number 5, Lake Maracaibo close. Try us and blood shall spread’’
On the receipt of complaint of THREAT AND INTIMIDATION from fmr Vice President, Alh. Atiku Abubakar, GCON, the Forty Three (43) years old Augustus Akpan (From Edemaya village, Ikot Abasi LGA, Akwa Ibom State) was trailed and eventually arrested by the IGP Intelligence Response Team.
2. The suspect, Augustus Akpan was arrested at toll-gate along Lagos-Ibadan express way, Lagos State, while on the run to escape arrest. During interrogation, he confessed to the crime and admitted that he resorted to the threat and intimidation when all efforts to extort money from the former vice president were unsuccessful.
3. The suspect, Augustus Akpan also admitted in his confessional statement that he is a professional fraudster and not working for any political party, that his mention that ‘Let Buhari run against your against your PDP members’ in his threat message to the former vice president was merely to divert attention.
4. The suspect is fluent in English, Ibibio, Russian and Portuguese languages respectively. The Phone and the SIM card he used for the threat and intimidation were recovered from him and were discovered to have been robbed by him from a lady (name withheld) who identified him as the person that robbed her few months back.
5. The suspect, Augustus Akpan further confessed that he had threatened, defrauded and extorted huge sum of money in Naira and foreign currency from so many prominent personalities and their family members while posing as an Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) agent.
6. Investigation is being concluded and suspect will be arraigned in court on completion of investigation.
Ag. DCP JIMOH MOSHOOD
FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER
FORCE HEADQUARTERS
(Premium Times )
