LAGOS — Operatives of the Special Fraud Unit, SFU, Milverton Road,
Ikoyi, Lagos have arrested a 24-year-old man who posed as a lady to
defraud a United States of America couple of $42,497, purportedly for
the purchase of a property in Lagos.
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 arrestedExplaining 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.
“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.
“Olafinraye Adedamola who posed as a lady named Janet was born in 1989 in Kosofe LGA Ketu, Lagos.
“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.
