Police foil dating scam as man poses as woman to defraud friend in Niger
The Niger State Police Command has arrested an 18-year-old, Victor Ugwu of Easy Life Street, Kaduna Road, for alleged involvement in a dating scam and posing as a woman.
Victor, who works at a company in Kaduna, had been sending pictures to his contacts on Facebook and Tiktok to lure them into a romantic relationship.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Wasiu Abiodun, said on October 16, 2025 at about 6:00 pm, a patrol team attached to Maje Division, Suleja LGA, while on routine patrol along Kaduna Road, intercepted Victor in a public argument with one Peter of the same area.
Abiodun noted that Victor was contacted by Peter, who wanted to meet a lady that he (Victor) worked with.
However, he stated that instead of introducing Peter to his colleague, Victor chose to dress up as a woman, take self-pictures, and send them to Peter via social media and even requested money from him, claiming to be the lady in the pictures.
“When questioned, Peter stated that within last year, he contacted Victor to link him with a lady who is Victor’s colleague at work.
“Surprisingly, Victor chose to dress like a lady, took selfie pictures and forwarded to Peter through social media, and requested for money. During investigation, a search was conducted in Victor’s house, a wig and female clothes were recovered.
“He confessed that he shared the pictures to his contacts on Facebook and Tiktok for a dating scam, and to also achieve one thousand viewers and followers for monetisation. Case under further investigation,” the PRO explained.
In a separate operation, Abiodun disclosed that the Maje Division Patrol team recovered a stolen white Volkswagen Golf vehicle with registration number RSH 442 FD.
He said the vehicle had been reported stolen from Hayin-Kaduna, and the patrol team had been searching for it along the Maje-Dikko Junction to Kaduna road.
The command further revealed that the vehicle was found abandoned, and the complainant confirmed it as the stolen car.
The police are now investigating to identify the perpetrator.