The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre has dismantled a cross-border fraud syndicate and arrested a man accused of impersonating a World Bank official to defraud foreign victims of thousands of dollars.
Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Anthony Placid, disclosed this in a statement on Wednesday in Abuja, saying the operation followed actionable intelligence from the East Africa Sub-Sahara Africa Safe Promotion Foundation, a registered non-governmental organisation in Nairobi, Kenya.
According to the police, the suspect, identified in reports as Agbor Martins Black-Diamond, also known as Oruojong Black Diamond Agbor Martins, allegedly posed as an official of the World Bank and other United States-based donor organisations. Placid said the Kenyan complainants, Julius Kithome and Cynthia Kithome, were introduced to the suspect in Nairobi by one Rev. Edy Ndeto. Relying on his claims, the victims allegedly transferred a total of $250,000 over three years as registration and administrative fees to secure donor funding.
Police said no funding was released. Instead, the suspect allegedly organised sham symposiums in Nigeria and South Africa to sustain the deception. Investigators also alleged that in 2024 he induced the victims to obtain a bank loan against their family property to access a non-existent $850,000 empowerment fund in Ghana. Financial analysis, according to the police, confirmed substantial inflows from the Kenyan victims, including $57,975 between February and July 2023. The suspect was arrested on March 31.
The police said his organisation, Black Diamond African Beauty Restoration Foundation, was found to be unregistered in Nigeria, while United African Continent Limited was incorporated in November 2024, allegedly to legitimise the scheme. Further findings showed that the alleged fraud extended to local farmers in Kuje Area Council, Abuja, where victims were reportedly made to pay N50,000 each under the guise of empowerment and capacity-building programmes.
In a related case, NPF-NCCC operatives arrested Chinedu Mbachu on April 3 following a complaint by Lex Excellentia on behalf of Emmanuel Enwelu of NewLife Ventures, Makurdi. Mbachu, a former employee, was accused of unauthorised modification of computer systems, cybersquatting and diversion of company funds.
Police said he confessed to using his personal bank accounts to receive customer payments meant for the company. A Samsung A6 Plus phone, NIN paper slip and digital NIN slip were recovered from him.
The police said investigations were ongoing and suspects would be charged to court upon completion.
