Airport Police Arrest Suspected Romance Scam Kingpin Attempting to Flee Lagos

The Nigeria Police Force has arrested a suspected high-profile romance and celebrity scam operator at the Lagos airport.

According to a statement issued by ASP Mohammed Adeola, Police Public Relations Officer of the Airport Police Command, the suspect is accused of defrauding multiple victims in the United States of over ₦1 billion, an amount estimated at more than one million US dollars.

The suspect, identified as Essien Emmanuel Akpama, a 20-year-old male, was arrested on January 5, 2026, by operatives of the Airport Police Command’s Anti-Fraud Unit while attempting to board a flight out of Lagos State.

Police said the arrest followed months of intensive intelligence-led surveillance and monitoring based on credible information.

Preliminary investigations revealed that Akpama, who previously resided in Calabar, Cross River State, relocated to Lagos on February 23, 2024, where he allegedly coordinated and executed multiple fraudulent schemes.

“In one instance in 2024, the suspect, using a celebrity scam strategy, deceived a 47-year-old female victim in the United States into transferring one million US dollars under the guise of purchasing property in Florida for an orphanage,” the statement said.

The funds were reportedly obtained through a cryptocurrency scheme known as “BullRun 2.0,” formerly called “4 Way Mirror Money.”

Further investigations showed that the suspect also defrauded a 70-year-old female victim in the United States of ₦25,709,400, equivalent to $18,000. Police said the fraud involved the purchase of gift cards, high-end mobile phones, and computer equipment, which were shipped to Nigeria at the suspect’s request.

Recovered items were valued at ₦8,141,367 and included one MacBook Pro 14-inch, one iPhone 17 Pro Max, two Google Pixel 10 Pro XL smartphones, and one Google Pixel 10 Pro.

According to investigators, the suspect claimed the devices were required to maintain secure communication with his victims while he posed as a 60-year-old orthopedic surgeon working with the United Nations in Nigeria.

The Commissioner of Police, Airport Police Command, CP Ogunbode Olufunke, Mnips, PhD, reaffirmed the command’s commitment to preventing criminal elements from using airport corridors to evade justice.