Police arrest man over N3.5m romance scam, sextortion

Abdulwajeed Abdullahi has been arrested by the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre for allegedly defrauding victims of N3.5m. According to the Punch Nigeria, he also attempted to extort a woman by threatening to release her nude photographs and videos.

The suspect, who allegedly operated online under the pseudonym “Captain Junaid,” was arrested at his residence in Kano State. The investigation began after a petition from a female victim, who alleged that Abdullahi had engaged her in an online romantic relationship before demanding money and threatening to publish her intimate materials.

The police found that Abdullahi had initially contacted the woman on TikTok before moving the conversation to WhatsApp, where he induced her to send intimate photographs and videos. He then demanded $3,000 and threatened to release the materials if not paid, as per Punch Nigeria. Further investigation uncovered other alleged victims linked to the same online identity.

Brief written by urgent.news from Punch, Punch Nigeria — 2 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.