Police in Lagos have arrested a 20-year-old man accused of defrauding victims in the United States of more than $1m (£790,000) through a sophisticated celebrity romance and crypto scheme.
Essien Emmanuel Akpama was detained by the Anti-Fraud Unit of the Airport Police Command on Monday as he reportedly attempted to board a flight out of the city.
‘The UN Surgeon’
Investigators say Mr Akpama, who relocated from Calabar to Lagos in early 2024, used multiple personas to target vulnerable women online.
In one instance, he is alleged to have posed as a 60-year-old United Nations orthopaedic surgeon. Using this guise, he reportedly convinced a 47-year-old American woman to transfer $1m for a fictitious orphanage property in Florida.
Police say the funds were solicited via a cryptocurrency scheme known as “BullRun 2.0.”
A second victim, aged 70, was allegedly defrauded of $18,000 through the purchase of gift cards and high-end electronics, which were shipped to Nigeria under the suspect’s direction.
Luxury items seized
The Airport Police Command stated that the arrest followed months of “intelligence-led surveillance” designed to prevent criminal elements from using Nigeria’s aviation hubs as escape routes.
Items recovered during the arrest include:
- An iPhone 17 Pro Max
- A MacBook Pro 14-inch
- Several Google Pixel 10 Pro devices
- Total value of seized electronics: ₦8.1m
The Command’s spokesperson, Mohammed Adeola, said the suspect claimed the high-end devices were necessary for “secure communications” for his work with the UN.
A crackdown on transnational crime
The Commissioner of Police for the Airport Command, CP Ogunbode Olufunke, said the arrest highlights the force’s commitment to dismantling criminal networks.
“The Command will continue to deploy intelligence-driven operations to detect, disrupt, and dismantle criminal networks operating within and around Nigeria’s aviation ecosystem,” she said in a statement.
The case has now been transferred to the Special Fraud Unit (SFU) for further investigation. Mr Akpama is expected to be arraigned in court once inquiries are complete.
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