The long arm of the law has caught up with three suspects who reportedly opened fake Instagram and Twitter accounts with the handle @kingsunnyademusic to swindle unsuspecting victims.
The suspects identified as one Oluwafemi Lawrence Oyedokun, said to be the P.A to an actor Yinka Quadri, his girlfriend, Rebecca Oyebode, 23, and his friend, Oyewunmi Abiodun Ridwan, 27, were arrested by men of the Lagos State Police Command for advertising a fake U.S and U.K musical tour in the name of King Sunny Ade, thereby defrauding people of millions naira.
Reports say the gang have defrauded about 100 unsuspecting victims and raked in millions of naira from them.
While reacting to the development, King Sunny Ade said, “People were always calling my number that they heard I was organising a tour.
When it was getting too much for me, I had to call the police who helped me. People were thinking I was the one doing it, and I’ve never done anything like that in my life. I’m a law-abiding citizen of this country.
I came to the CP and he promised to investigate.”
Further finding by the police revealed that the main suspect Oyedokun opened several bank accounts and detectives have so far traced a total of N3,111,175 obtained from 61 victims.
They also uncovered cash inflows ranging from 22 to 33 victims in a day, even as the suspects are in detention.
The trio were subsequently arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrates’ Court on Wednesday on four counts of conspiracy, impersonation, stealing and obtaining money under false pretences.
ASP Clifford Ogu, the police prosecutor, told the court that the defendants committed the offence which contravened sections 287, 314 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015, in March, 2019, at Ikeja, Lagos.
According to Ogu, the defendants created fake Instagram accounts of King Sunny Ade to defraud unsuspecting victims.
He said;
“The defendants opened an Instagram page with Sunny Ade’s name, advertising that KSA wanted to assist interested people to travel on music tours to Europe, America and Asia.
“They also wrote on the Instagram page that those who were interested in the tour should pay from N50,000 to N100,000, depending on their area of interest.
“People began to pay money into the accounts the defendants provided and they were withdrawing the money daily and promising to contact the victims".
“The defendants were tracked to Oyo State, where they were arrested.
“About N95,000 was recovered from them as they were withdrawing the loot,” the prosecutor said.
Before adjourning the case till May 22 for mention, magistrate, J.A. Adegun, admitted the defendants to bail in the sum of N300,000 each, with two sureties each in like sum while also ordering that all the sureties should be gainfully employed and must show evidence of two years’ tax payment to the Lagos State Government.
