An American female citizen, Vonapolouis Moss, has been rescued by the Kwara State Command of the Nigeria Police in Ilorin, the state capital, after being allegedly swindled by a 23-year-old suspected internet fraudster.
Speaking with journalists in Ilorin on Friday, the state commissioner of Police, Paul Odama, gave the name of the suspect as Awoleye Joshua Oluwatofunmi “male” 23 years old, of Sabo-Oke Road, Ilorin.
Vonapolouis Moss of 2962, W 64th Court, Merrillville, Indiana 46410, USA, was allegedly lured into the country on January 9, 2023, by the suspect, said to be an internet fraudster and ripped her off thousands of dollars.
“On January 12, 2023, at about 1200 hours, based on actionable intelligence, operatives of the SCID at the Kwara State Police command arrested one Awoleye Joshua Oluwatofunmi, “male” of Sabo-Oke Road, Ilorin, within the premises of an hotel along Flower Garden Road, Ilorin, in company with one Vonapolouis Moss, “female” an American citizen.
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“A preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect, who is an internet fraudster known as Yahoo Boy, presented himself to the victim on TikTok, a social media platform, as an American by the name of Howard Adams and ripped her off for about 1,000 USD.
“The suspect later took a step further by luring the victim to fly into Nigeria on January 9, 2023, through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, after which she flew into Ilorin the next day and was received by the suspect.
The suspect also deceitfully took an unspecified amount of USD from the victim before she was rescued by police operatives.
“The necessary authorities have been contacted for appropriate action. Meanwhile, the rescued victim has been moved into secure custody by the State Police command pending her return trip to the USA.
The commissioner of Police said that the command would continue to discharge its duties with a full sense of responsibility, adding that it would be willing at all times to respect the rights of every citizen.
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The Police boss, who also enumerated some other achievements of the command, said that “Within the period under review, one self-confessed kidnapper was arrested around the Kambi area of Jebba Road by the name of Issa Naigbeti, who conspired with two others at large to kidnap his father, by the name of Bature Naigboho, around the Igbeti and Okeho areas of Oyo State, and collected the sum of #2.5 million as well as some other items. One Alhaji Tunde Buhari “m” and Mallam Ridman Meco “m” were equally kidnapped in the Oluwalose community of Okolowo on 10/1/2023; both have been successfully rescued and handed over to their families, while efforts are still ongoing to arrest the kidnappers.
“In the week preceding this, policemen on routine patrol around Share Avenue saw and flagged down a motorcycle. The rider jumped down and ran into the bush, a search conducted in the back tied to his motorcycle revealed two AK-47 rifles, seven magazines, fifty-six live rounds, and the sum of $255,000. Efforts are ongoing to fish out the suspect because it is highly likely he is conveying the weapons for a kidnapping adventure.
“Another highly volatile issue that came up in the course of the week was the menace of illegal miners around Edu/Patigi LGA of Kwara State, which has needs. As a serious and wholesale solution, the command has deployed men to the area to stop the movement and all illegal operations going on there.
”I also took an inspection tour of Offa, Oyun, Oke-Ero, Irepodun Moro, and Ifelodun LGA, which fall under Omuaran, Iloffa, Bode Sadu, and Offa Area Commands.
“Town hall meetings were held with stakeholder groups, where fruitful discussion and decisions were reached. I also convened a high-powered meeting of all heads of security services in the state to deliberate on salient security issues, especially the coming general elections,” the police CP concluded.