Air Force Arrests Chief of Air Staff’s Facebook Impersonator

Air Marshal Alex Badeh
Senator Iroegbu
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has
arrested Mr. Israel Justice Ukaegbu for
impersonating the Chief of Air Staff
(CAS), Air Marshal Alex Badeh, on the
popular social media site, Facebook.
The suspect was said to have connived
with one Mr. Wisdom Raphael
Onyebuenyi, who is now on the run, to
open a Facebook account with name
A.S. Badeh.
NAF Director of Public Relations and
Information, Air Commodore Yusuf
Anas, paraded Ukaegbu before
journalists in Abuja yesterday. He said
the suspect, who was arrested at No. 3,
Azikiwe Road, Aba, Abia State, on the
Facebook displayed a portrait
photograph of Badeh while interacting
with unsuspecting members of the
public in that capacity.
He added that the suspect claimed to
have opened the Facebook account
after falling victim to a fake NAF
recruitment agent who defrauded him
of N30,000 to assist him enlist into the
force.
He said: “This, according to him, was
what led him to enlist the services of
the information and communication
technology expert, Mr. Wisdom
Onyebuenyi, to set up his own Facebook
account to enable him recoup his money
and defraud other unsuspecting
Nigerians.
"The impostor attracted and interacted
freely with a lot of people in the name
of Air Marshal Badeh while also using
the same platform to deceive
unsuspecting victims of possible
recruitment into the NAF for a fee.”
Ukaegbu, who denied extorting money
from anybody, confessed to the crime of
impersonation and blamed his action on
the difficult economic situation in Aba.
He apologised to the air force and
begged for forgiveness, adding that he
was a victim of circumstances.
“The allegations against me are true.
God has already forgiven me, they
should also forgive me,” he said.