Woman arrested for impersonating Aisha Buhari

The police in Abuja have arrested a woman, Aisha Bello, 37, for allegedly impersonating the wife of the President, Mrs. Aisha Buhari.

Parading the suspect on Monday in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of Police, Sadiq Bello, said that the mother of four used Buhari’s name to solicit for contracts and financial assistance from unsuspecting members of the public.

The commissioner said that a phone and a newly-acquired Airtel SIM card registered in the name of the first lady were recovered from her.

He said, “Today, we have a special suspect to present to you; she is Aisha Muhammed Bello, 37 years old and a mother of four from Plateau.

“The suspect was arrested by police operatives on January 10, 2018 at the FADAMA office in Maitama, following a report that she contacted the coordinator of the project. She wanted assistance in her capacity as the First Lady.”

The CP explained that investigation was ongoing to ascertain  other people she must have duped in Mrs. Buhari’s name, adding that the suspect would be charged to court at the end of investigation.

The suspect, who described herself as a businesswoman,  admitted that she solicited for contracts in the Buhari’s name because she had lost her business capital.

She said, “I was arrested after I requested for a contract in the name of the wife of the President. I only sent text messages in the name of the wife of the President for contracts. I only did it once and it is because I lost the money for my business and I didn’t have money to continue with the business.”

Bello explained that she took the risk  after reading a motivational message on social media platform, WhatsApp, about risk-taking.

“I saw a message on Whatsapp messenger that one will succeed if one takes a risk,” she stated.