Police Probe Nigerian Socialite Over Alleged $2.5m Romance Scam

The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCC) has launched an investigation into a Nigerian socialite, Nzube Henry Ikeji, accused of impersonating the Crown Prince of Dubai to defraud a Romanian woman of $2.5 million in a romance and investment scam.

The Commissioner of Police in charge of the NPF-NCC, Uche Ifeanyi, confirmed the development in an interview with Saturday PUNCH on Friday, noting that detectives had begun profiling the suspect following viral reports linking him to the multimillion-dollar fraud.

“We’re still doing the profiling. The only information available to us so far is what we obtained from social media because there has been no direct complaint from the woman involved or from the documentary producers. We are trying to get our facts right,” Ifeanyi said.

A documentary published on Wednesday by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) had alleged that Ikeji posed as the Dubai Crown Prince in a long-running online scam that began about three years ago after contacting the victim, identified only as Laura, via LinkedIn.

According to the report, the deception was eventually exposed after internal disputes erupted among members of the syndicate. One disgruntled accomplice reportedly reached out to Laura, revealed Ikeji’s true identity, and shared a video allegedly showing him flaunting a newly acquired mansion.

Investigators from the OCCRP were also said to have travelled to Abuja, where they enlisted the help of journalist Chikezie Omeje to track down the suspect using the Instagram accounts of Ikeji and his wife.

At a press briefing on Thursday, Ifeanyi told journalists that the police had begun analysing the documentary while awaiting formal contact from the producers or the YouTuber who released the footage.

“Yes, we are doing that already,” he said when asked if profiling had commenced, adding that the police would move towards a possible arrest once sufficient evidence was gathered.

The NPF-NCC, he said, is currently working to corroborate the allegations with verifiable evidence before taking further action.

“Once we establish enough facts, we’ll take the necessary steps,” the commissioner added.