Molly Kilete, Abuja
The police force headquarters in Abuja have announced the rescue an American lady held hostage in a Lagos hotel by her Nigerian Facebook lover for 16 months.
The victim a retired civil servant, who hails from Washington DC, USA was said to have arrived Nigeria February, 13, 2019 on a visit to one Chukwuebuka Kasi Obiaku, 34, a native of Ikeduru Local Government Area of Imo State, who had promised to marry her on May 15, 2019.
But instead of keeping to his promise, he held her captive in a hotel, extorted from her monies totaling 48,000-USD, and took control of her credit and debit cards as well as the operation of her bank accounts including the receipt of her monthly retirement benefits and allowances over the period he held her hostage. He was also said to have used the victim as a front to defraud her associates and other foreign personalities and companies.
Force public relations officer Frank Mba, who made this known in Abuja, said the victim was rescued by men of the IGP Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Ogun State Annex following information received from a patriotic Nigerian in the Meran area of Lagos State.
He said the victim was held against her wish by her so-called lover. Her rescue is coming few weeks after Philippino lady lured to Nigeria by her Facebook lover held her hostage and raped, beat and duped her of her money.
The suspect, Chukwuebuka Kasi Obiaku a graduate of Business Administration and Management, is said to be a known internet fraudster and have defrauded many unsuspecting members of the public both locally and internationally.
Mba, said Chukwuebuka deliberately lured the victim into the country under the pretext of love and deceitfully married her on 15th May, 2019.
Mba, also said the police operative from Operatives of the Nigeria Police Cybercrime Unit, INTERPOL National Central Bureau (NCB), arrested 3 suspected internet fraudsters Samson Inegbenesun 30, Blessed Junior 32 and Muhammed Zakari 36, all from Uromi in Edo State, for cyber-related offences including advance fee fraud, money laundering and romance scam.
He said the suspects were arrested in Uromi, following investigations into suspected fraudulent online procurement and supply of COVID-19 protective mask, received through the INTERPOL NCB Wiesbaden, Germany.
Mba, in a statement, said “Investigations reveal that Samson Inegbenosun is an internet fraudster and a member of a Turkey-based online scamming syndicate. He supplies foreign and local bank accounts to receive fraudulent funds and use same as conduit to other feeder accounts. Meanwhile, the Police have recovered from him, a building apartment worth N20,000,000.00, a Toyota RAV-4 2015 model worth N6,500,000.00 and a Toyota Matrix 2002 model valued at N2,000,000.00 which he procured with the proceeds of the crime.
“The second suspect, Blessed Junior, returned to Nigeria from Italy in February, 2020 but maintains close contacts and illicit dealings with his Italian associates. Investigations reveal that he has made over One Hundred and Twenty Million Naira (N120,000,000.00) from internet fraud and other cybercrime dealings. He also received the sum of 52,000 EUROs recently from his criminal associates in Italy as commission for his active involvement in an international cybercrime deal. He also owns a filling station established with the proceeds of the crime.
“Mohammed Zakari, an expert in internet fraud, identity theft and impersonation, falsely claims to be a British citizen. He also poses to be one Kelly Galk on online dating apps which he uses to carry out romance scams and to defraud unsuspecting members of the public, locally and internationally. Investigation reveals he has made millions of naira from his illicit cybercrime transactions since he joined the syndicate.
“In a similar development, Police operatives have successfully rescued an American citizen who was confined in a Lagos hotel where she was held against her wish for over a year. The victim who hails from Washington DC, USA and is a retired civil servant in the US, arrived Nigeria on 13th February, 2019 on a visit to one Chukwuebuka Kasi Obiaku, 34years old, a native of Ikeduru LGA of Imo State whom she met on Facebook.
She was however rescued by Police operatives attached to the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Ogun State Annex following information received from a patriotic and civic minded Nigerian in the Meran area of Lagos State. The rescue of the American lady is coming on the heels of a similar case of abducted Philippino lady who was lured to Nigeria by her supposed lover whom she equally met on Facebook.
Investigations reveal that the suspect, Chukwuebuka Kasi Obiaku is a graduate of Business Administration and Management and an internet fraudster who has defrauded many unsuspecting members of the public both locally and internationally. Chukwuebuka deliberately lured the victim into the country under the pretext of love and deceitfully married her on 15th May, 2019. He subsequently held her captive in a hotel, extorted from her monies amounting to a total of 48,000-USD. He also forcefully collected and took control of her credit and debit cards as well as the operation of her bank accounts including the receipt of her monthly retirement benefits and allowances over the period of fifteen (15) months. Chukwuebuka also used the victim as a front to defraud her associates and other foreign personalities and companies.
Mba said all the suspects would be charged to court as soon as investigation is concluded.