Nigerian man apprehended for defrauding Indian woman of over ₦9m

A Nigerian man identified as Johnson has been arrested in Delhi for allegedly duping an Indian woman from Rajnandgaon, Chhattisgarh, through a fake matrimonial profile.

The suspect reportedly swindled the victim out of ₹15,72,000 (approximately ₦9,100,000) under the pretense of marriage.

The Rajnandgaon police revealed that Johnson had been living in Delhi despite his visa and passport expiring.

The accused created a fake profile on a matrimonial website, portraying himself as a UK-based businessman intending to expand operations in India.

After gaining the victim’s trust, he contacted her through an accomplice, claiming he was stranded at Delhi airport and needed money to exchange UK currency.

Rahul Dev Sharma, the Additional Superintendent of Police in Rajnandgaon, explained that the scam escalated to blackmail, leading to the substantial financial loss for the victim.

Johnson has since been apprehended, and investigations are ongoing to uncover the full extent of the fraud.

Authorities have urged people to exercise caution when interacting on matrimonial platforms to avoid falling victim to such schemes.

Later, when the victim tried calling him, she found his phone switched off.

Realizing that she had been scammed, the woman lodged a case of fraud with the Dongargarh Police cyber cell.

“We started an investigation on the complaint of the applicant. With the help of a cyber cell, it was found that the accused lives in Delhi. Our team raided his Delhi accommodation and arrested him,” Sharma stated.

“Accused Johnson is a resident of Nigeria. He has cheated on many girls so far. We are trying to gather further information through interrogation.”

The police also noted that Johnson is around 40 years old. Authorities recovered a laptop and four mobile phones from the accused, and his bank account has been frozen.