Love Scam: EFCC drag 'Yahoo' boys to court for duping foreign nurse of N13.5m

Two Internet fraudsters have been docked for duping a foreign nurse of the sum of N13.5m. It is the end of the road for two Internet fraudsters » , popularly called 'Yahoo-Yahoo' boys, as they have been hounded to the court by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission » , EFCC, for duping » a Belgian nurse of the sum of €61,500, about N13.5m. The suspects, Gabriel Osereme Xavi, who used the name Collins Page, and Aikhaituamen Best Junior Cyril, were arraigned before Justice E.F. Ikponmwen of the Edo State High Court sitting in Benin, on charges bordering on conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretence. According to a press statement by the anti-crime agency, Xavi was slammed with a 12-count charge while Aikhaituamen was docked on 6-count charge. The statement reads thus: The accused persons are alleged to have fleeced a 49 year-old Belgian nurse, Goryczka Janina, whom they met on Facebook, of the above, over some love scam. The victim allegedly met one of the accused persons sometime in January, 2014, who introduced himself as 'Collins Page', a Croatian Engineer resident in Wigan, England. Within days of their meeting, 'Page' contacted her with the story that he was in Nigeria to supervise a road construction project in Edo State and that he was having difficulty with his credit card as it had been blocked for security reasons. He solicited Janina’s assistance for desperate cash. Over the next few weeks, Janina kept sending him money until she had transferred a total of €61,500 through one Emmanuel Okoh based in Cape Town, South Africa and Messrs Junior Best and Cyril Ojiemen. When 'Mr. Page' pressurized her for more money, Janina confided in a friend who told her that she might have fallen into the hands of scammers. In view of the plea of the accused persons, prosecuting counsel, G. K. Latono asked for a trial date and prayed the court to remand them in prison custody. Justice Ikponmwen adjourned the case to December 8, 2014, for consideration of bail applications and ordered that the defendants be remanded in prison custody.