Airport police arrest 20-year-old over N1bn romance, celebrity fraud

The Airport Police Command in Lagos has arrested a 20-year-old man over his alleged involvement in a large-scale romance and celebrity fraud scheme that reportedly defrauded victims in the United States of more than N1 billion.

The arrest was disclosed in a statement issued on Tuesday, January 6, 2026, by the Police Public Relations Officer of the Airport Police Command, ASP Mohammed Adeola. The suspect was identified as Essien Emmanuel Akpama.

According to the statement, Akpama was apprehended on January 5, 2026, while attempting to board a flight out of Lagos State. The arrest followed months of intelligence-led surveillance based on credible information linking him to transnational cyber fraud activities.

Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect, who previously lived in Calabar, relocated to Lagos on February 23, 2024. From Lagos, he allegedly coordinated and carried out multiple online fraud schemes targeting victims in the United States.

“The Nigeria Police Force, Airport Police Command, in its sustained efforts to combat transnational crimes and prevent the use of Nigerian airports as escape routes for criminal elements, has arrested a notorious celebrity scam and romance fraud suspect responsible for defrauding multiple victims in the United States of America of over N1,000,000,000,” the statement said.

The statement further disclosed that in one of the cases under investigation, the suspect allegedly deceived a 47-year-old female victim in the United States into transferring one million U.S. dollars.

The funds were reportedly solicited under the guise of purchasing property in Florida for an orphanage, using a cryptocurrency investment scheme known as “BullRun 2.0,” formerly called “4 Way Mirror Money.”

In another instance, Akpama is accused of defrauding a 70-year-old U.S. victim of N25,709,400, equivalent to about $18,000, through the purchase of gift cards, high-end mobile phones and computer equipment. Police said the items were shipped to Nigeria at the suspect’s direction.

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Items recovered in connection with the case include a 14-inch MacBook Pro, an iPhone 17 Pro Max and three Google Pixel mobile phones, with a combined estimated value of N8,141,367.

Investigators noted that the suspect allegedly posed as a 60-year-old orthopedic surgeon working with the United Nations in Nigeria, claiming the devices were required for secure communication with his victims.

The case has since been transferred to the Nigeria Police Force Special Fraud Unit (NPF-SFU) for further investigation. Police said the suspect would be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of investigations.

Reacting to the arrest, the Commissioner of Police, Airport Police Command, CP Ogunbode Olufunke, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to preventing criminal elements from exploiting airport corridors to evade justice.

She stressed that intelligence-driven operations would continue to detect, disrupt and dismantle criminal networks operating within Nigeria’s aviation ecosystem.

The arrest comes amid heightened security and enforcement activities at Nigerian airports aimed at combating transnational crimes.

In December 2025, the Nigeria Customs Service intercepted undeclared foreign currencies worth about N2.28 billion from an Austrian national at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Lagos, as he attempted to board a Dubai-bound flight.

Other notable seizures in recent months include $420,900, £5,825 and large sums in CFA francs at Kano Airport in July 2025, $49,000 recovered from a Dubai-bound passenger at MMIA, and $578,000 seized last year from another traveller.

Authorities say these intelligence-driven operations underscore ongoing efforts to curb financial crimes and prevent Nigeria’s airports from being used as channels to escape justice.