Nigerian police said they rescued a US woman who had been lured into the West African country by con artists before being held in captivity for more than a year.
Authorities said the unnamed woman arrived in Nigeria hoping to meet her new lover whom she met on social media, but ended up in confinement in a Lagos hotel.
“The victim who hails from Washington DC, USA and is a retired civil servant in the US, arrived Nigeria on 13th February, 2019 on a visit to one Chukwuebuka Kasi Obiaku, 34years old, a native of Ikeduru LGA of Imo State whom she met on Facebook,” the Nigerian Police said.
“She was however rescued by Police operatives attached to the Intelligence Response Team (IRT), Ogun State Annex following information received from a patriotic and civic minded Nigerian in the Meran area of Lagos State.”
Over a period of 15 months the US woman was forced to part with $48,000.
Cyber crimes are common in Nigeria, with the perpetrators commonly known as ‘Yahoo Boys.’
Recently, two Nigerian social media stars accused of large-scale fraud were arrested in Dubai and extradited to the US where they now await trial.
