Police arrest man for ‘stealing $597,000 from US citizen’

The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) says its operatives have arrested one Rabiu Aliyu Salisu for allegedly defrauding Deborah Woods, a US national, of $597,000.

Speaking during the parade of suspects on Thursday, Muyiwa Adejobi, force spokesperson, said Salisu fraudulently used the identity of an American citizen to carry out the alleged fraud.

Adejobi said operatives of the cybercrime centre also arrested two suspects identified as Saidu Adam Usman and Yusuf Umar for allegedly creating fictitious accounts to commit N400 million fraud.

The force spokesperson said 82 suspects were arrested for internet fraud and other cyber related crimes in January 2025.

“Among these cases is the arrest of two individuals, Saidu Adam Usman ‘m’, and Yusuf Umar ‘m’, in connection with the creation and distribution of compromised financial accounts used to facilitate fraudulent transactions amounting to over four hundred million naira,” Adejobi said.

“The suspects created Moniepoint profiles using pre-registered SIM cards and email addresses and then distributed to local accomplices across different states for KYC verification, fraudulently obtaining bank verification numbers (BVNs) and KYC details from individuals.

“Upon completion of the KYC process, the suspects would change the passwords to secure them for their unknown foreign contractor.

“Another significant arrest is that of one Rabiu Aliyu Salisu AKA Rabo, involved in identity theft, computer-related fraud, and money laundering.

“The suspect had fraudulently assumed the identity of an American citizen, presenting himself as Matthew Ramsey, and defrauded one Deborah Woods, an American national, of $597,000.

“Following a filed petition for criminal defamation, cyberstalking, cyberbullying, and falsehood, the force also secured the arrest of one Idowu Smart Emmanuel, who eventually admitted to his crimes and confessed that his allegations were false.”