Joshua Awoleye Oluwatofunmi, a Higher National Diploma student of Kwara State Polytechnic, has allegedly defrauded Vonapolouis Moss, an American woman, of $1000 after deceiving her to travel to Nigeria.

The victim, Moss, explained to the police in Kwara State that she first established communication with Oluwatofunmi on Tik-Tok, a popular video-supportive social media platform, where the fraudster claimed he was also an American citizen.

The internet fraudster had identified as Howard Adams while pretending as a US national working in Nigeria.

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Moss told the police that she lived at 2962 W 64th Court, Merrillville, Indiana 46410, United States of America.

Paul O. Odama, the police boss in the state, told newsmen that the suspect, whose address was Sabi-Oke road, Ilorin, lodged Moss in an unmentioned hotel along Flower Garden road, Ilorin, and his arrest was made possible by an “actionable intelligence”.

“On January 12, 2023, at about 1200 hours, based on actionable intelligence, operatives of the SCID at the Kwara State Police Command arrested one Awoleye Joshua Oluwatofunmi, male, of Sabo-Oke Road, Ilorin, within the premises of a hotel along Flower Garden Road, Ilorin, in company with one Vonapolouis Moss, an American citizen,” Odama told journalists while parading the swindler on Friday in Ilorin, the state capital.

“A preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect, who is an internet fraudster known as ‘Yahoo’ boy, presented himself to the victim on TikTok, a social media platform, as an American by the name of Howard Adams and ripped her off about 1,000 USD.

“The suspect later took a step further by luring the victim to fly into Nigeria on January 9, 2023, through the Murtala Mohammed International Airport in Lagos, after which she flew into Ilorin the next day and was received by the suspect.

“The suspect also deceitfully took an unspecified amount of USD from the victim before she was rescued by police operatives.

“The necessary authorities have been contacted for appropriate action.”

In an interview with journalists, Moss said, “We met on social media and he invited me to visit Nigeria, but when I came, he took me to the Bureau de Change to change my money to Nigerian currency and he also took me to Shoprite. When the money on me finished, he told me to tell my people to send more.”

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“I like Nigeria and I would like to come back but what I want now is to go back to America.”

On what next action the police would take, the commissioner of police said Awoyele would be charged to court after thorough investigation without the involvement of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

Odama also stated that the victim had been put in a safe facility pending her journey back to the United States.