India-based Nigerian scam suspect nabbed after victim’s suicide

The Indian police have arrested a 31-year-old Nigeria-born man, Chijioke John Okoye, for allegedly blackmailing and extorting money from a woman who later died by suicide on March 1.

According to Indian Express, an Indian online news outlet, Okoye had been residing in India’s capital since 2020 and was apprehended in New Delhi’s Palam Colony on Friday after a detailed investigation.

The report states that the police brought him to Cuttack on Sunday for a court appearance.

Cuttack police launched an inquiry after the victim’s family filed a complaint following her death.

A suicide note revealed that she had been repeatedly blackmailed and threatened by an unknown individual on WhatsApp.

The Cyber Cell of Cuttack Urban Police District traced the suspect through international phone numbers linked to the case.

Okoye had allegedly created over 3,000 fake Facebook profiles, impersonating professionals such as doctors.

Using these identities, the police said he would send friend requests to individuals in similar fields, build relationships, and obtain their contact details.

DCP Khilari Dnyandeo explained, “He used those fake profiles to send friend requests to other profiles in similar domains.

“After developing a friendship with them, he cunningly used them to obtain their mobile and WhatsApp numbers on the pretext of having a relationship with them.”

Once he established contact, the police said he would allegedly convince victims to share private and intimate photos or videos by sending them fake images of the individuals he was impersonating.

According to the police, he would then use this material to blackmail and extort money from the victims.

The report disclosed that Okoye used the same tactics on the Cuttack woman, threatening to release her private content unless she continued paying him.

Overwhelmed by fear and unable to escape his demands, the 37-year-old woman ended her life, the police said.

Following his arrest, police recovered a laptop, five mobile phones, and eight SIM cards from different countries.

Though Okoye is Nigerian, the police said he was found in possession of a passport issued by Côte d’Ivoire, which is currently under verification.

The Cuttack police added that they were investigating whether he acted alone or was part of a larger cybercrime network.

“He will be taken on remand for further investigation to ascertain whether he was operating alone or working as part of a larger cybercrime syndicate,” Dnyandeo stated.

This latest incident in India comes just days after the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency raised concerns over the growing threat of sextortion gangs operating from Nigeria and other West African countries.

The NCA warned that British teenage boys, some as young as 14, were being targeted by cybercriminals posing as young women on social media platforms like Snapchat and Instagram.

These gangs reportedly use fake identities to manipulate victims into sharing explicit images, which they then use for blackmail.

Similarly, in 2024, PUNCH Metro reported that two Nigerian brothers were sentenced in the United States to 17 years and six months in prison for a related crime.

The Ogoshi brothers, originally from Lagos, lured 17-year-old Jordan DeMay by pretending to be a girl his age.

They coerced him into sending explicit photos before using them to extort him. Tragically, DeMay took his own life less than six hours after their Instagram exchange began.