Metro
Romance scam: Two US-based Nigerians face 40-year jail term
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Two Nigerian nationals, Olutayo Sunday Ogunlaja, 39, and Abel Adeyi Daramola, 37, each face up to 20 years in a United States prison after being convicted by a federal jury for orchestrating a $560,000 romance scam.
In a statement released on Monday evening and obtained by PUNCH Metro on Tuesday, the US Attorney, Alexander Uballez and Raul Bujanda, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Albuquerque Field Office, revealed through the Department of Justice that the Nigerian pair was convicted of perpetrating the scam following a four-day trial and under three hours of jury deliberation.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office stated that the two Nigerian nationals, in partnership with other accomplices, initiated a scheme in January 2016, using a fabricated identity, “Glenn Brown,” on the dating website, eHarmony.com.
Prosecutors revealed that the fraudulent profile was later used to establish a romantic relationship with a victim in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Along with other accomplices, the defendants allegedly obtained thousands of the US dollars from the victim.
The statement said, “Throughout the fraud, the victim was led to believe that their financial assistance was necessary for ‘Glenn Brown’ to complete a purported construction project in Malaysia and return safely to the United States.
“The victim sent approximately $560,000 to various accounts in the United States, Canada, and Malaysia between January 2016 and April 2017.
“On September 27, 2016, the victim wired approximately $28,000 to a Woodforest Bank account in the name of Daramola Cars, as instructed by the fraudulent “Glenn Brown” persona. Daramola subsequently wired $18,000 to a seafood importer in Denmark and issued a check (cheque) for $14,000.”
Although Daramola was said to have denied involvement in the romance scheme, a statement from the FBI Albuquerque Field Office revealed that text and WhatsApp messages on his phone exposed his role in supplying bank accounts for the multiple fraud schemes.
The statement highlighted that Ogunlaja’s involvement included using his Bank of America account “for receiving fraudulent funds.”
It was noted that “Glenn Brown” specifically instructed the victim to deposit $20,000 in cash into Ogunlaja’s account on March 9 and March 15, 2016.
After receiving the deposits from the victim, Ogunlaja was said to have made several cash withdrawals and transferred them to Daramola’s account.
A report by PUNCH Metro on November 26, 2024, detailed how two other Nigerians, Anthony Ibekie and Samuel Aniukwu, were sentenced by a US federal jury to a combined 30-year prison term for defrauding US citizens of $3,500,000.
The convicted individuals were said to have deceived their victims by claiming they had received large inheritances that required a fee to access.
Metro
Kano man opens fire at marriage ceremony over noise disturbance, kills one
There was pandemonium in Tudun Yola Quarters of Kano metropolis after a 34-year-old man, identified as Rabiu Mukthar, allegedly opened fire on people attending a marriage ceremony, killing one person and injuring three others.
The Kano State Police Command confirmed the incident, saying the suspect used a pump-action gun to sporadically shoot at the gathering during the celebration.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Chief Superintendent Abdullahi Haruna Kiyawa, said the suspect reportedly came out of his house while music was being played at the marriage ceremony and opened fire on those attending the event.
According to him, the police immediately swung into action after receiving information about the incident and arrested Mukthar alongside another person.
He added that the pump-action gun allegedly used in the attack was recovered from the suspect.
During interrogation, Mukthar reportedly told the police that the organisers of the musical event did not consult residents before holding the celebration.
He was quoted as saying that the loud music disturbed him and prevented him from sleeping, prompting him to resort to shooting at the gathering.
The police said Mukthar and the other suspect are currently being detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Kano State Police Command as an investigation into the incident continues.
The command condemned the attack and reiterated the need for residents to seek lawful means of resolving disputes rather than resorting to violence.
Metro
Police uncover secondary school student selling nude videos to classmates for N500,000
The Nigeria Police Force has uncovered a secondary school student who sells nude videos to his classmates for N500,000.
Omosetemi Agbede-Zuokumor, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ugborikoko Division, disclosed this at a town hall.
At the town hall in Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, the Chief Superintendent of Polcie (CSP) raised the alarm while recounting an outreach conducted by her team at a secondary school in Delta State.
According to her account, police personnel seized several expensive smartphones, including iPhone 15, iPhone 16 and Samsung devices, after allegedly discovering students watching pornographic content and engaging in sexual activities during school hours.
However, the investigation took a more disturbing turn after one male student unlocked his phone for the officers.
Speaking in a trending video, Agbede-Zuokumor said officers allegedly discovered several intimate videos and photographs involving female students from the boy’s class on the device.
“After we went to the school and seized the secondary school students’ phones, one of the students unlocked his phone, and we found almost nude videos of his female classmates,” she said.
She alleged that the student claimed the videos were being sold.
The officer further claimed that the student had more than 85 foreign phone numbers, including Australian numbers, which he allegedly used in online fraudulent activities.
She said the student was allegedly using photographs of white or foreign-looking individuals, commonly referred to as “oyibo faces”, as part of the scheme to deceive people online.
According to the officer, the student also allegedly had the intimate images and videos of female classmates on the same device and was reportedly selling them for as much as ₦500,000.
She added that the boy reportedly told officers that the female students had asked him to sell the material on their behalf.
The allegations have raised serious concerns over the exposure of children to cybercrime, pornography and the non-consensual circulation of intimate material among young people.
The officer also expressed concern over the type of smartphones being used by some of the students, noting that many of those whose phones were seized reportedly possessed expensive devices despite coming from families engaged in small-scale businesses.
“Most of these students are using iPhone 15 and 16, while their parents are petty business owners,” she said.
She described the situation as troubling and warned of the potential consequences for young people becoming involved in cybercrime and other harmful online activities at an early age.
The officer further disclosed that some parents later visited her office seeking the return of the seized devices.
“It’s sad to see that their parents came to my office to collect back the destruction of this generation,” she said.
The reported incident has sparked concerns about the growing exposure of young people to pornography, cybercrime and the misuse of smartphones, while also highlighting the need for stronger parental guidance, digital education and safeguarding measures in schools.
The allegations made by the officer have not been independently verified and the identities of the students and the school involved were not disclosed.
Metro
Fire Razes About 300 Shops In Ibadan Market
Property and other valuables worth millions of naira have been lost to a fire incident that gutted the popular Oranyan Market in Ibadan North-East Local Government Area of Oyo State, on Sunday night.
The affected shops included jewellery shops, furniture outlets, second-hand clothing shops and others.
The cause of the fire, which started in one of the shops before spreading to others, had yet to be ascertained as of the time of filing this report.
A trader, who simply identified herself as Iya Alia, said, “The fire started around midnight. I cannot be specific about that time. And those affected were gold sellers, furniture shops, second-hand clothes shops and many others. The shops affected were almost 300.”
Another eyewitness, who did not want his name in print, said, “This is devastating. This is huge. I don’t even know how to explain it. Close to 300 shops were destroyed.”
When contacted by our correspondent on Monday in Ibadan, the state capital, the Special Adviser to Governor Seyi Makinde on Fire Reforms and Chairman of the Oyo State Fire Services, Morof Akinwande, confirmed the incident.
He said, “Yes, it occurred. That number we cannot ascertain, but what is known is that some shops were destroyed and the fire incident started in the middle of the market with an explosion.
“Whether it’s a gas explosion or other things, when you have a gas explosion, it would spread. But as I’m talking to you, the situation has been under control since 1am.
“On the number of shops and inventory, that is too early because that’s part of the post-fire outbreak investigation. So, I cannot be accurate about the number of shops that were destroyed. But shops were actually gone.”
Nigerian Tribune reports that a similar incident occurred at the herbal section of the market in 2024, when over 200 shops were completely razed.
It will also be recalled that a fire incident on Saturday, August 22, 2026, razed nine locked-up shops at the Nigerian Railway Shopping Complex, located along the popular Aleshinloye Market in Ibadan South-West Local Government Area of Oyo State.
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