By:Felix Ikpotor
Management of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) has denied that the students who were arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged cybercrime are its students.
Public Relations Officer of the school, Sam Kpenu who made the denial said it became necessary following some media reports which claimed the arrested suspects were students from UNIPORT.
Kpenu in a statement said the EFCC had said the suspects, Prince Hyacinth, Rex Emadifie Oghene, Odili Ifeanyi, and Uduak Samuel Williams, were picked up from their hideout at Chibiak Avenue, Elionparanwo, Ada George area of Port Harcourt.
The anti-graft agency noted that one Tecno Spark 4 belonging to Prince Hyacinth; one iPhone 11 Pro Max, two Infinix Hot and one apple Laptop belonging to Odili Ifeanyi; one iPhone 7 and two iPhone 11 belonging to Rex Emadifie Oghene and one iPhone 8+, one Acer Laptop and one HP Laptop belonging Uduak Samuel Williams, were recovered.
The statement noted that preliminary investigation carried out showed that the suspects were mainly involved in a romance scam and also act as pickers for an organized ring of fraudsters.
It also noted that while Prince Hyacinth parades himself as a Spain-based marine engineer to bait his victims, Rex Emadifie Oghene poses as a rig engineer based in the United State.
It further stated that the two other suspects, Odili Ifeanyi and Uduak Samuel Williams present themselves as rig/marine engineers to defraud their victims, noting that between the four, a total heist of $111,500 from 15 victims has passed through their hands.
However, Kpenu in the statement said: “the attention of the University of Port Harcourt has been drawn to a media report on the arrest of four persons by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) erroneously reported to be students of the University of Port Harcourt. The said persons were arrested ‘for their alleged involvement in cybercrime.
“The authorities of the University wish to state categorically that:
1. The persons arrested are not students of the University of Port Harcourt.
“2 That the University has gone through its record and no such names are found in the record book of the University of Port Harcourt.
“3. The University of Port Harcourt is not a breeding ground for criminals but a towering citadel of learning that turns out polished products who are making waves all around the globe.
“4. The University frowns at the attempt to paint it in bad light through reckless reports. The University dissociates itself from this false report and calls on the general public to disregard this report which is aimed at smearing the good image of the University.
“Authorities of the University advise the media to always carry out a thorough investigation before rolling out embarrassing reports to the public.”
