Police arrest man over N3.5m romance scam, sextortion

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The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre has arrested a suspected online romance scammer, Abdulwajeed Abdullahi, for allegedly defrauding victims of N3.5m and $1,500 and attempting to extort a woman by threatening to release her nude photographs and videos.

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The suspect, who allegedly operated online under the pseudonym “Captain Junaid,” was arrested at his residence in Kano State on August 4, 2026, following an investigation into a petition by a female victim.

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The Director, Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Center, AIG Akaninyene Ezima, disclosed this in Abuja on Wednesday.

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Ezima said the investigation began after a petition dated July 28, 2026, from a female complainant, who alleged that the suspect had engaged her in an online romantic relationship before allegedly demanding $3,000 and threatening to publish her intimate materials.

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According to him, the suspect initially contacted the woman on TikTok on June 18 before moving the conversation to WhatsApp.

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“The suspect developed a romantic relationship with the complainant and allegedly induced her to send intimate photographs and videos.

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He added, “On 18th July, 2026, the suspect demanded US$3,000.00 and threatened to release the intimate materials if payment was not made,”Ezima said.

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The police chief said further investigation uncovered other alleged victims linked to the same online identity.

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“Further investigation identified another victim, also reported losing ₦3,500,000.00 to the same ‘Captain Junaid’ identity,” he said.

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Ezima said another female victim from Bauchi State allegedly paid the suspect $1,500 under a purported foreign exchange trading arrangement.

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“Through Open-Source Intelligence and other investigative techniques, the person behind the ‘Captain Junaid’ account was identified as Abdulwajeed Abdullahi and traced to Kano State,” the AIG stated.

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He said operatives subsequently arrested the suspect at his residence on August 4.

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According to Ezima, forensic examination of devices recovered from Abdullahi revealed intimate photographs and videos belonging to multiple women.

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“Forensic examination of devices recovered from the suspect revealed intimate photographs and videos belonging to multiple females, as well as forged academic certificates and identity cards bearing the suspect’s photograph but different names,” he said.

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The AIG said the suspect confessed during interrogation, admitting that he commenced romance scam activities in January 2026 and had been operating the “Captain Junaid” identity to obtain money under false pretences.

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“He admitted receiving ₦3,500,000.00 from a victim and US$1,500.00 from another and threatening the complainant with the release of her intimate photographs,” Ezima said.

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The suspect also allegedly admitted using the identity, photographs and publicly available materials of a Saudi pilot identified as “Captain Abdullahi Rajhi” to create the fake “Captain Junaid” persona.

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He further disclosed that some of the photographs and videos used in his impersonation activities were obtained from Telegram groups.

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In another case, the police arrested David Temitope in Lagos over an alleged sophisticated Business Email Compromise operation.

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The suspect was arrested at his residence in Megamound Estate, Lekki, Lagos, on July 20, following an investigation conducted in collaboration with foreign law enforcement agencies under the Budapest Convention 24/7 Network.

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According to Ezima, forensic examination of devices recovered from the suspect yielded more than 12.5 million victim email logs involving victims in over 50 countries, including Canada, Germany, the United States, India, France and the Netherlands.

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The suspect’s Bank Verification Number was also linked to accounts with six financial institutions and fintech platforms, including GTBank, Zenith Bank, FairMoney, Carbon, OPay and PalmPay.

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A Mercedes-Benz AMG GLC 43, suspected to have been acquired with proceeds of crime, was also recovered.

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“The investigation further established that the suspect made in excess of ₦100,000,000.00 from the criminal enterprise,” Ezima said.

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He explained that the suspect allegedly used phishing kits obtained from a vendor on Telegram to compromise Microsoft 365 login credentials belonging to employees of targeted companies.

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In another investigation, the Centre arrested Kelechi Sistus Ihekaire, proprietor of Kestart Technology, over an alleged international cyber-enabled investment fraud and money laundering operation.

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The investigation followed a petition over the alleged fraudulent loss of N56.29m by victims who were induced to participate in a WhatsApp-based stock trading platform promising high returns.

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Ezima said investigations traced the funds through several entities, while Kestart Technology allegedly served as a terminal off-ramp for proceeds associated with the syndicate.

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He said a reconstruction of Kestart Technology’s account showed terminal cash-out inflows and outflows totalling N3.62bn between October 2025 and May 2026.

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“Further investigation revealed that approximately ₦3.62 billion in suspected proceeds of crime was converted into Tether (USDT) stablecoins through Bybit Peer-to-Peer transactions,” the AIG said.

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Ihekaire was arrested in Lagos on August 13 and allegedly admitted ownership of Kestart Technology and involvement in peer-to-peer cryptocurrency trading on Bybit.

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The police said they would pursue legal processes for the forfeiture of funds under lien in the company’s account and associated cryptocurrency assets, with a view to facilitating victim restitution where applicable.

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Meanwhile, two suspects, Emeka Egba Anthony, 28, and Ogboji Solomon Emeka, 29, were arrested in Anambra State over alleged conspiracy, identity theft, impersonation and computer-related fraud.

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The arrests followed a complaint by a top civil servant who alleged that his identity was stolen and used on WhatsApp and Facebook.

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According to Ezima, operatives arrested the suspects on August 4 and recovered 24 registered and 33 unregistered MTN SIM cards, 26 registered and 18 unregistered Airtel SIM cards and an MTN toolkit from the first suspect.

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Anthony allegedly admitted being a registered toolkit operator with MTN and Airtel and engaging in the buying and selling of registered and unregistered SIM cards.

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He also allegedly admitted creating a social media profile using the identity of “Catherine Harry,” purportedly a UK citizen, to defraud individuals in India.

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The second suspect, Ogboji, allegedly admitted dealing in pre-registered SIM cards, which the police said facilitated identity theft, impersonation and other forms of cybercrime.

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In another case, the Centre arrested Babatunde Olamilekan Idowu, also known as “CSP Bamiseye,” for alleged impersonation of a serving Commissioner of Police at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Abuja.

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The police alleged that the suspect, alongside other members of his syndicate who remain at large, impersonated senior police and government officials to defraud a victim of N17m.

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According to Ezima, the suspect allegedly posed as CSP Bamiseye of the FID, while other members of the syndicate purportedly acted as the Inspector-General of Police and Attorney-General of the Federation.

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The suspect was arrested in Ekiti State and allegedly confessed to the offence.

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Ezima warned members of the public to verify the identity of anyone contacting them while claiming to be a police officer or senior government official.

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He also warned cybercriminals that the Police were strengthening their technical capabilities and international partnerships to identify, trace and prosecute offenders.

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