Woman nabbed for duping people N150m in Niger

A 23-year-old woman, Victoria Damilola Akinnowonu, of Kolawole Street in the Tunga area of Minna, Niger State, has been arrested by the police for allegedly defrauding 100 people of about N150 million.

The police command’s spokesman, DSP Wasiu Abiodun, which he said bordered on cheating, criminal breach of trust and internet-related offences was referred to the police by a magistrates’ court in May.

Abiodun further said that the suspect was arrested with the help of her family and that during interrogation, she claimed to have been operating an online business for the past one year through a link she discovered on Facebook, by showcasing items such as female clothes, bags, shoes, phones and laptops.

He added that, “Preliminary investigation revealed that she deceived her victims that her goods were seized by the customs. She also rented two warehouses in the Tunga and Kpakungu areas of Minna with over N2m which she used to deepen her fraud escapades.”

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While noting that Victoria confessed that by her rough estimate she owed over 100 customers to the tune of about N150m, Abiodun said so far 72 of her victims had come to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Minna, providing evidence of their ordeal with the suspect.

In another development, the police arrested a 33-year-man, Bali Joshua, of Timber-Shed, Suleja, and Sunday Paul (22) of Kwamba area, Suleja, in connection with the killing of a 45-year-old man, Boniface Chinanwa, of Morocco Road, Suleja.

Parading the suspects, DSP Abiodun said they confessed during interrogation that in May this year one Zingfa Selchak who was still at large invited them to assist him to snatch a tricycle.

He explained that, “He took them somewhere along Kwamba Road, opposite Timber Shed, and told them to wait for him. Shortly he appeared with a tricycle rider whom he deceitfully contracted to convey some goods for him.

“They jointly moved to a corner with the rider, pretending to start packing the goods into the tricycle. Suddenly, the said Zingfa placed a cable on the neck of the rider from the rear, tightly drawn and strangulated him till death with the help of Bali, while Sunday tied the hands of the victim.”

He further said the suspects also searched the victim, stole his phone and other valuables in his possession, and Zingfa drove the tricycle away while Bali and Sunday dropped the corpse of the victim by the roadside where it was discovered the following morning.