LAGOS, Nigeria, Jan. 6, 2026 — Operatives of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) Airport Police Command have arrested a 20-year-old man, Essien Emmanuel Akpama, over an alleged international romance and celebrity scam that investigators say defrauded multiple victims in the United States of more than ₦1 billion.
Police said Akpama was apprehended on January 5, 2026, by the command’s Anti-Fraud Unit while attempting to board an outbound flight from Lagos. In a statement dated Tuesday and signed by the command’s spokesperson, ASP Mohammed Adeola, the police said the arrest followed “months of intensive intelligence-led surveillance and monitoring” based on credible information linking the suspect to transnational online fraud and an alleged attempt to evade arrest by fleeing the country.
According to the police account, preliminary investigations indicate that Akpama previously lived in Calabar, Cross River State, and relocated to Lagos on February 23, 2024, from where he allegedly coordinated several schemes. In one case in 2024, police said he used a “celebrity scam” approach to persuade a 47-year-old woman in the U.S. to transfer $1 million, claiming the money would be used to purchase property in Florida for an orphanage. Police alleged the funds were solicited through a cryptocurrency scheme described as “BullRun 2.0,” formerly known as “4 Way Mirror Money.”
Police also alleged that another victim — a 70-year-old woman in the U.S. — was defrauded of ₦25,709,400 (about $18,000), largely through purchases of gift cards and high-end devices which were shipped to Nigeria at the suspect’s direction.
Items recovered, police said, include a MacBook Pro (14-inch), an iPhone, and multiple Google Pixel devices, which investigators claimed were obtained from victims after the suspect allegedly posed as a 60-year-old orthopaedic surgeon working with the United Nations in Nigeria.
The case has been transferred to the NPF Special Fraud Unit (NPF-SFU) for further investigation, and police said the suspect will be arraigned in court after investigations are concluded.
