The Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Centre has arrested a suspected online romance scammer named Abdulwajeed Abdullahi. He is accused of defrauding victims of N3.5 million and $1,500. He also tried to extort a woman by threatening to share her nude photos and videos.
Abdulwajeed, who allegedly went by the name "Captain Junaid," was arrested at his home in Kano State on August 4, 2026. This followed an investigation triggered by a complaint from a female victim.
AIG Akaninyene Ezima, the director of the Nigeria Police Force National Cybercrime Center, shared this news in Abuja on Wednesday.
Ezima explained that the investigation started after a complaint dated July 28, 2026. A woman reported that the suspect had an online romantic relationship with her. He later demanded $3,000 and threatened to release her private materials.
The suspect first reached out to the woman on TikTok on June 18 before moving their chat to WhatsApp. "The suspect developed a romantic relationship with the complainant and allegedly made her send intimate photos and videos," Ezima said.
On July 18, 2026, the suspect demanded $3,000 and warned that he would release the intimate materials if she did not pay. Ezima noted that the investigation revealed more victims connected to the same online identity.
"Further investigation identified another victim, who reported losing ₦3,500,000.00 to the same 'Captain Junaid' identity," he said.
Ezima mentioned that another woman from Bauchi State allegedly sent the suspect $1,500 under the guise of a foreign exchange trading scheme. "Using Open-Source Intelligence and other techniques, we identified the person behind the 'Captain Junaid' account as Abdulwajeed Abdullahi. He was traced to Kano State," the AIG stated.
The police operatives arrested the suspect at his home on August 4. Ezima said that forensic examination of devices taken from Abdullahi showed intimate photos and videos of several women.
"The forensic examination revealed intimate photographs and videos belonging to multiple females, along with forged academic certificates and identification cards with the suspect's photo but different names," he said.
The AIG added that during questioning, the suspect confessed to starting his romance scam activities in January 2026. He used the "Captain Junaid" identity to trick people into sending money.
"He admitted to receiving ₦3,500,000.00 from one victim and $1,500.00 from another. He also threatened the complainant with sharing her intimate photographs," Ezima said.
The suspect also claimed he used the identity, photos, and publicly available materials of a Saudi pilot named "Captain Abdullahi Rajhi" to create the fake "Captain Junaid" persona. He revealed that some of the photos and videos he used came from Telegram groups.
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