A 19-year-old National Diploma holder of Yaba College of Technology Lagos has been arrested for being allegedly blackmailing Waka Queen Salawa Abeni with her nude pictures.
The suspect, Olufowoke Emmanuel, said to be a resident of Ogun State, was arrested last Thursday by the decoy team of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) after being monitored for three days.
The artiste recently raised an alarm on social media to over plans to blackmail her with her nude photos.
She posted her WhatsApp conversation with the suspect and the supposed old photos he planned to use for the blackmail.
RRS said the Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu had found out of the blackmail attempt sometime in April 2020, directed its Commander, DCP Olatunji Disu to fish out the suspect.
The police explained that Emmanuel could not be picked immediately because of the prevalence of the COVID-19, but he was later arrest.
The suspect, an Electrical Engineering graduate, in his statement to the police, confessed to have been the mastermind behind the blackmail attempt.
He claimed that he saw the nude pictures in a memory card he picked up on the floor in YABATECH in November 2019.
He added that after downloading the photographs on his phone, he got Abeni’s mobile number from her Instagram page.
“On 1st of April, 2020, I chatted her up and also called her after sending a few of the photos to her online.
“My intention was to negotiate with her for a few bucks and for me to destroy the photographs.
“I thought everything was going on fine until the following day when I heard the news of the blackmail over the radio.
“I was with my mother. She even cursed the blackmailer unknown to her that I was the one behind it.
“I immediately sneaked out, destroyed the memory card, and threw my mobile phone and SIM card into a nearby wetland in Magboro.
“Since then, I never mentioned it to anyone and called Madam Salawa Abeni about it again,” he said.
The Commissioner of police said no individual would be allowed to commit a crime in Lagos from any state or escape to other states to evade arrest.
He advised guardians to monitor their wards, emphasising that the internet is a fertile ground for opportunities but the police would not allow criminals use it as avenue to exploit law–abiding citizens.
