Police arrest four over ‘sextortion’ of Croatian

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) says it has arrested four suspects in connection with alleged sextortion and romance scam. 

Olumuyiwa Adejobi, police spokesperson, in a statement on Thursday, named three of the suspects as Abodunrin Rasheed, Abodunrin Tunde, and Abodunrin Rokeeb. 

According to the statement, the suspects met a Croatian national on a dating app and posed as a woman.

“Their continuous chats progressed to Instagram and WhatsApp leading to an intimate relationship,” Adejobi said.

“However, the Croatian was deceived into sending nude pictures of himself through the dating app.

“The suspects subsequently conspired and pressured him to pay ransom or have his pictures sent to his family and friends.”

Adejobi said the suspects were apprehended following a report via the NPF’s National Cybercrime Centre (NCCC) e-reporting portal and an intelligence report from the centre.

Adejobi said exhibits recovered include six iPhones, one Techno phone, one Samsung phone, and a Lexus car. 

“Further investigations revealed that the suspects have previously engaged in numerous similar cybercriminal activities, both collectively and individually, defrauding and extorting numerous victims globally,” the statement added.

“The proceeds of these crimes were primarily received through gift cards like the iTunes gift cards, steam gift cards etc. 

“The suspects will be charged in court upon completion of the investigations.”

In July, Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram, said it had removed 63,000 Nigerian accounts linked to sextortion scams.

Last month, a US court sentenced two Nigerian brothers, who targeted a 17-year-old in a sextortion scam, to 17 years and six months in prison. 

The victim, a schoolboy, committed suicide after the brothers threatened to release his nude pictures. 

The sentence was the first successful prosecution of Nigerians for sextortion in the US, where it is a rapidly growing cybercrime, often linked to Nigeria.

Kayode Egbetokun, inspector-general of police (IGP), urged citizens to be wary of suspicious online activities and warned cybercrime culprits to desist, according to the statement issued by Adejobi.

Egbetokun said the police would take strict measures against individuals or groups attempting to compromise national peace and security.