Businesswoman Hypnotised, Duped N5.1m

Segun Atanda/

Police in Lagos have arrested two male suspects accused of hypnotizing a woman before swindling her of N5.1million.
The suspects, including a 16-year-old; Haggai Duru and Festus Ajah (26), are members of an advance fee fraud (419) syndicate operating in Lagos and Imo States.
The syndicate, whose ringleader is identified simply as Emeka, usually targets small business owners.
Their latest victim was a businesswoman (name withheld) that sells musical instruments at the Computer Village, in Ikeja, Lagos.
The duo allegedly approached the woman and tricked her into following them to Sango, in Ogun State, where they claimed she could get musical instruments at a cheaper price.
They later changed their story and told her they have some duplicate bank notes that could be changed into dollar bills with a particular chemical.
They then convinced her to provide the money for the chemical and gave her several account numbers into which she paid a total of N5.1million in various installments.
The victim reported the matter to the police when it eventually dawned on her she had been defrauded.
The suspects were, subsequently, arrested while attempting to withdraw part of the money at a bank in Imo State.
The Police told Newsmakers that Emeka is still at large.
The duo were among the suspects paraded at a news conference by the Lagos State police commissioner, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, at the command headquarters, in Ikeja, on Monday.