According to police authorities, Agwu is a professional swindler, whose modus operandi is to stand surety for anybody who can afford his fee.
It was learnt that he had been doing the ‘business’ for 13 years.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said the suspect was arrested on August 7, 2013, after presenting a forged Certificate of Occupancy to effect the bail of a suspect in police custody.
She said, “A suspect in detention at X- Squad for allegedly defrauding a company of N35m was given bail conditions. One of the conditions was that his surety must provide a C of O. The suspect then presented Agwu as his surety. Agwu presented a C of O. The officer in charge of X-Squad investigated and found out that the document presented was fake. So Agwu was arrested.
“He confessed that he had used the document on numerous occasions and usually charged between N50,000 and N100,000 depending on the nature of the case. We believe that he is not acting alone. Investigations are ongoing and he will be charged to court soon.”
The 64-year-old suspect said he started the crime over 13 years ago on part time basis.
When asked where he got the fake document, he said a government employee at the Lagos State Secretariat, Alausa, who is now deceased, helped him to get it.
Describing his mode of operation, he said he only stood surety for people who had cases in magistrate’s courts or were in police custody.
He said, “Once a person has been given bail conditions, lawyers or agents hire me for my services. I am very careful to restrict my activities to magistrate’s courts because they are not very thorough. I stay away from high courts.
“Anytime I stand surety for someone, I make sure I go to the person’s house to get adequate information about the person. For example, in 2011, I helped one Mrs. Clark, who was arrested by the Special Fraud Unit to secure bail. After I stood surety for her, I followed her to her house in Warri, Delta State to verify her details.”
Agwu, who prefers to be referred to as “professional surety”, said on some occasions, he used his original documents to effect the release of his clients.
“I don’t always use fake documents. I have a registered company and sometimes I use my tax clearance, utility bills and other documents to procure bail for people. Sometimes, if the bail condition states that the surety must be a senior civil servant, I will find another person to do it,” he said.
The Abia State indigene, said through the business, he had sponsored four of his children through the university. His fifth child is in third year in a university.
He said he had been warned by his children to stop the ‘business’ but he continued because of financial challenges.
He said, “I don’t waste money. I have five children and with the proceeds I receive from this business, I have been able to get them a good education. Four have graduated while one is still in school. They asked me to stop this work but when I could not pay house rent or feed, I decided to go back to it.”
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