A 27-year-old man, Moses Momoh, is cooling his heels in a police cell after allegedly threatening to circulate the nude photos of a 60-year-old retiree, identified only as Pat.
Punch Metro learnt that the secondary school leaver had struck a relationship with Pat on Facebook after sending her a friendship request.
Our correspondent was told that the two lovers conversed frequently on Whatsapp, a telephone messaging application, where they engaged in virtual romance and sex. It was gathered that Momoh
later demanded money from Pat, which the latter refused to give him.
He was alleged to have threatened to post her nude photos on the Internet if she didn’t give him the sum of N1m. The Benin-based sexagenarian was said to have reported the case at the Zone 2 Police Command, Onikan, Lagos State.
A police source said the Assistant Inspector-General of Police, Adamu Ibrahim, asked operatives in the Criminal Investigation Department to investigate the case and apprehend the suspect.
She said, “In the course of investigation, we discovered that the man lied about his age; he told the woman he was 47 years old. When the woman saw his profile pictures, she queried him. He replied the woman that pictures could be deceptive.
“The woman told him she was 60 years old and since the age difference was insignificant, they started a relationship.
“They were always talking on the telephone, making video calls and having video romance and video sex. The woman was, however, unaware that he was storing the information in his phone.
“She said he later started requesting money from her and when she could no longer bear his frivolous demands, she blocked him on Facebook and Whatsapp. However, the suspect opened new accounts and sent her messages. He also called her with his friend and mother’s telephone numbers.
“He later sent some of her nude photos to her and threatened that if she didn’t send him N1m, he would post the pictures on the Internet.”
The source said the retiree immediately reported the case to the police.
Punch Metro learnt that some policemen positioned themselves at a Lagos hotel where the duo had agreed to meet.
“When he entered the hotel room, he asked her to go and shower. He also undressed. The woman, after bathing, asked him to get her a drink. He had stepped out when she quickly alerted the police to his presence in the room. He was then arrested,” the source added.
However, the Kogi State indigene, who lived with his parents in the Alagbado area of Lagos, said Pat sent the photos to him of her own volition.
He said after their friendship started on Facebook, Pat blocked him because she suspected he was not trustworthy.
He said, “I got her phone number from her Facebook page and called her. We reconciled and our relationship blossomed.
“However, a few days later, she told me that she could not enter into a relationship with me and would rather offer one of her daughters to me. I agreed. When she didn’t get back to me, I called her and she said she had changed her mind and that she would give our relationship a try since I was interested in her and not her daughters.
“We were always chatting on Whatsapp late at night and early in the morning. She called me one morning and said she didn’t sleep well. She said I should understand what she meant. I asked her to have a bath, dress up and come down to Lagos. She said she didn’t have the money to make the trip yet. She then asked to see my nude pictures, which I sent to her.
“Around the evening of that day, she called me, saying she wanted to show me something. She removed her blouse during the video call, revealing her private parts and breasts.
I took snapshots of some of the video calls because the phone I was using was not mine and I wanted to save the pictures for myself.
At another time, I was at a meeting when she called and exposed her private parts to me. I have about 20 of such pictures.”
The suspect said Pat had only given him N5,000 since they started the relationship.
He added that she had got N150,000 from another boyfriend in Abuja.
Momoh explained that when he requested N5,000 from the money, the 60-year-old started insulting him.
“I told her on Whatsapp that it was bad we were in a relationship and she was not ready to help me. She then blocked me. I sent her some of her nude photos and threatened to send them to her daughters to disgrace her.
“She called back and apologised, asking what I wanted. I told her to come down to Lagos so we could reconcile. She agreed to spend the weekend with me. I helped her to look for some cheap hotels and we agreed to meet at one of them.
“On Friday, around 8pm, she told me she was at the hotel. We had only sat down when the police walked in and arrested me,” he added.
While denying making a demand of N1m, he said he regretted the relationship.
The Zone 2 Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, warned members of the public to be wary of Internet fraudsters.
She said, “The AIG has instructed that the case be charged to court.”
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