The suspect, identified as Olafinraye Adedamola, admitted the offence while being paraded yesterday.
He was said to have connived with a Malaysian lady to defraud the couple. The Malaysian lady, according to him, was his Facebook friend, adding that he had intended to use the money to further his studies in a tertiary institution.
How he was arrested
Explaining how the artisan who trained in aluminum works was arrested, spokesperson for the unit, Ngozi Isintume-Agu, a Deputy Superintendent of Police, said:
“An intelligence report dated September 24, 2013 from Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit (NFIU), Abuja addressed to the Commissioner of Police, Special Fraud Unit (SFU) alleged that one Olafinraye Adedamola opened a USD Domiciliary Account No. 273/6980678251/0 with the Demurin, Ketu, Lagos Branch of Sterling Bank Plc and through suspicious circumstances, cumulative sum of USD 42,497 was paid into the account by unsuspecting victims abroad between August 13, 2013 and September 16, 2013.
“The suspected illicit inflows were followed by immediate cash withdrawals by the suspect who appeared to have no known affiliation with the international depositors. “SFU operatives swung into action and investigation carried out on the domiciliary account revealed that $18,129.92 is still left in the account and a lien was immediately placed on the account.
“Olafinraye Adedamola who posed as a lady named Janet was born in 1989 in Kosofe LGA Ketu, Lagos.“The suspect was traced to his house at 7, Agidi Road, Oshogun, Alapere, Ketu, Lagos but he evaded police arrest and his father, a proprietor of a moribund driving school, feigned ignorance of his son’s whereabouts. However, the fleeing suspect was later apprehended by the Police.
“An artisan who trained in construction of aluminum but currently a driving instructor in his father’s moribund driving school located in Ketu, Lagos claimed he met a Nigerian at a conference in Malaysia who introduced him to the victim who requested that he purchased property for him in Nigeria which was the basis for the disbursement of the money into his account and that he had already bought a building at Ogba, Ikeja for N4 million and that the documents were with him.”
I intended to further my studies with the money— Suspect
Adedamola who noted that this was his first attempt, said he first met the couple on Facebook and in the course of their discussion, booked for a meeting in Malaysia.
According to him; “I posed as Janet on the Facebook, using a white woman’s photograph. I told the couple that I was an estate manager and convinced them to buy property in Lagos.
“Since they have not been to Nigeria, they asked us to meet elsewhere and when I stumbled on a business conference that was holding in Malasia, I booked the meeting. “On reaching Malaysia, I told a Facebook lady friend to pose as Janet after telling her what to say. That was how the deal was struck and they paid the dollar equivalent of N3.4 million into my account. I intended to use the money to further my studies because I am determined to be a graduate.
I used part of the money to travel again to Malaysia for leisure in August.
“My regret is that I was caught at the end because I used my genuine data to open the account. I guess it was because it is my first time.”
The suspect, according to Isintume-Agu, will be charged to court.
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