The arrest of a Dubai-based Nigerian Instagram celebrity has sent many social media users and followers of Ramon Olorunwa Abbas, better known as Hushpuppi asking several questions about his source wealth and if indeed he was an estate developer as he claimed.
Several news outlets have awarded Hushpuppi’s arrest to the efforts of Nigeria EFCC among other secret agencies but it’s now clear that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in Nigeria has no hand in Wednesday’s arrest of Nigeria “big boys” in Dubai.
The acting chairman of the anti-graft agency, EFCC, Ibrahim Magu has reacted over the arrest of Hushpuppi and his colleagues by the International Police (Interpol) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) for alleged fraud.
According to Mr Magu, the commission is yet to be involved in the case.
He said, “We are yet to be involved in the case of Hushpuppi, but if they happen to give us this thing (details) we would assist.”
Ibrahim Magu also believes that the EFCC is not all about arrest and prosecution of internet fraudsters. The EFCC is also involved in rehabilitating suspects, Mr Magu say.
“We are not all about arresting, prosecuting and chasing of internet fraudsters, and taking away the proceeds of their crime, but we are also trying to see whether we can rehabilitate them.
“Because most of this boys are either undergraduate or graduate from higher institutions, so they can be better people to our country.
“The menace of Yahoo boys is also a course of concern, we are collaborating with other law enforcement agencies.
“Yahoo boys have an association with their mothers who do not feel what their children are doing is a crime actually. It is called the “Yahoo Yahoo Mothers Association, a situation where the mother would go abroad and the child would stay there and help them siphon funds from credit card fraud.
Hushpuppi and his team were involved in a $435.6 million (AED1.6 billion) BEC scam →https://t.co/QmBoA5klaWhttps://t.co/SXnljcrgKw
— Netbuzz Africa (@netbuzzafrica) June 25, 2020
“So we are doing everything possible to arrest the situation,” he added in a chat with TVC News.
Hushpuppi who is well known for his flamboyant display of wealth on social media, was arrested three days ago for allegedly hacking into the United States (US) unemployed database and impersonating citizens qualified for unemployment funds.
Following Nigeria’s launch of manhunt for internet criminals in the country, Hushpuppi has so far lost several friends. Many who had illegal dealings with him in the past continue to blocked him on social media.
At least in the last 24 hours, about 30 or more friends are no longer following his popular Instagram account.
There are 5-6 governments involved in Hushpuppi’s arrest source tell Netbuzz Africa. The case has also linked to that of the 80 boys arrested in the US last year.
Netbuzz Africa is also informed that the guys arrested last year are the main brain for Hushpuppi’s arrest as they have revealed enough to enable them escape long jail time for their own glory.
Currently, the manhunt of Nigerian fraudsters are being handled in the US, United Arab Emirates (UAE), South Africa, Nigeria and the United Kingdom (UK) by several secret agencies.
A wide-ranging fraud and money laundering operation that netted millions of dollars from victims of internet con jobs revealed most of the fraudsters to be Nigerians.
The investigation which began in 2016 with a single bank account and one victim, has over 100 suspects arrested and charged today.
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