Police have rescued an American lady held hostage in a Lagos hotel by her Nigerian Facebook lover for 16 months.
According to a statement issued on Sunday by Police Public Relations Officer, Frank Mba (DCP), the victim hails from Washington DC, USA and she is a retired civil servant in the US.
She arrived Nigeria on 13th February, 2019 on a visit to one Chukwuebuka Kasi Obiaku (pictured above) whom she met on Facebook.
Mba stated that Obiaku, a graduate of Business Administration and Management, has defrauded many unsuspecting members of the public both locally and internationally.
He added that the suspect deliberately lured the victim into the country under the pretext of love and deceitfully married her on 15th May, 2019 but instead held her captive in a hotel, extorting a total of $48,000.
Obiaku also forcefully collected and took control of her credit and debit cards as well as the operation of her bank accounts including the receipt of her monthly retirement benefits and allowances over the period of fifteen months.
The suspect used the victim as a front to defraud her associates and other foreign personalities and companies.
Mba in the statement 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 Meiran area of Lagos State.
Police said the suspect will be charged to court on conclusion of investigation and prosecuted in line with the Cybercrime Prevention/Prohibition Act, 2015.
The statement stated that the rescue of the American lady is coming on the heels of a similar case of abducted Filipino lady who was lured to Nigeria by her supposed lover whom she equally met on Facebook.
