The British High Commission in Abuja has received $23,000 that the Nigeria Police Force collected from a suspected international romance scammer.

The money was taken from Achufusi Obioma, a Nigerian who is being investigated for allegedly using an internet romance scam to deceive a citizen of the Cayman Islands.


NPF spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin said in a statement on Friday that the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service had submitted the fraud allegation to the INTERPOL National Central Bureau in Abuja.

Hundeyin added that Shaun McLeary, a British High Commission official in Abuja, transferred the money back to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service.

“The repatriation followed a request received from the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service seeking assistance of the INTERPOL NCB Abuja to investigate a Nigerian national, Achufusi Obioma Ikenna, who defrauded a resident of the Cayman Islands through an online romance scam,” the statement reads.

“Acting on the request, INTERPOL NCB Abuja conducted discreet, intelligence-led investigations which led to the arrest of the suspect and the recovery of the sum of $23,000.

"The recovered funds were formally turned over to the Royal Cayman Islands Police Service, via the British High Commission in Abuja, represented by Mr. Shaun McLeary, for safe delivery to the victim after all required paperwork was completed and in coordination with international partners. At the end of the investigation, the culprit will be arraigned.

The Nigeria Police Force's steadfast dedication to intelligence-driven policing, productive international cooperation, and the dismantling of transnational cybercrime networks is demonstrated by this successful repatriation.

The confiscated funds were given to the police of the Cayman Islands, a British overseas territory in the Western Caribbean that is self-governing.