From Marcel Duru, Owerri

In a shocking tale of dating app deception, Obinna Ezenwa has come forward to share his harrowing experience of being scammed by an American woman he met online. This is coming after the said woman had allegedly made efforts to intimidate and scandalize Obinna’s name and reputation.

“Thinking she would lose me, that was when the monster in her emerged and she began to say and do all manner of things to malign and intimidate me. Joining her in America is something that could have worked out with time, but she was so desperate that she was willing to destroy the marriage, my name and everything because things did not go her way.”Obinna later moved to the UK to pursue his MSc, but in January 2022, Kymberly allegedly made a defamatory publication against him in a Nigerian national daily, prompting Obinna and his lawyers to file a defamation lawsuit against her and the newspaper, which is still ongoing.The estranged couple is also embroiled in a divorce case, with the court processes served on Kymberly since February 2022.In an alleged desperate effort to taint Obinna, Kymberly and her allies petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), making wild allegations and claims, riddled with injurious falsehood, against Obinna.“Without any form of due diligence; without prior invitation or efforts to hear from me, the EFCC on April 2024, declared me wanted on the basis of the false claims and allegations leveled against me by Kymberly and her proxies in Nigeria, an action I consider defamatory and malicious, for which I have since filed a suit, seeking redress against the EFCC in court. The petitioner has my number and my email and must have made it available to the commission. These same people were calling my lawyer and still could not drop an invite for me through my lawyer or call me directly before declaring me wanted.”Reacting however, the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale insisted that the Commission must have made efforts to reach Ezenwa before declaring him wanted.His words: “It is not possible that the EFCC will declare anybody wanted without first making efforts to reach the person. We are a professional and global organization, so there is no way we would not have explored all available options to reach him before declaring him wanted. Well, if he feels maligned or defamed and has gone to court to seek redress, we shall meet him in court.”On financial dealings with Kimberly, Ezenwa however explained this: “In every financial engagement, she evaluated and made payments herself, except for when I do exchanges to Naira, the money is paid into my account and I do not decide how it is spent. For all the investments and the purchases of goods and services made, she evaluated and satisfied herself before paying.“The bulk of the expenses she ran were not on me but on hotel accommodations which she sourced herself and paid online. We stayed at the Eko Garden, Protea Hotel, Four Points by Sheraton and De Santiago Hotel among others. So her claims against me are largely false and fraudulent.“In all, I made no financial gain from her as that was not the objective; rather she took advantage of me, victimized me, sexually exploited me and only got infuriated because my trip to the US failed. Now I know it was actually God that saved me from her by making my Visa applications fail.”When the Imo Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Henry Okoye was reached to comment on the said arrest of Ezenwa by the command, he said: “I will have to find out from the Commander Tiger Base”. This is largely because Okoye assumed duty as the Imo Police spokesman in January 2023 while the said arrest happened February 2021.Contacted also, the Investigating Police Officer, who directly handled the case between Kymberly and Ezenwa at the Tiger Base, Imo State Police Command, simply identified as IPO Chidiebere Nwobi, told our correspondent on phone that the case was apparently a case of love gone sour. He confirmed that his unit arrested and detained Ezenwa following a complaint from Kymberly through the Police Control Room, but regretted that in spite of multiple opportunities given to Kymberly or her lawyer to come and prove their case, they failed to show up.“Even after Ezenwa was released, he was still reporting and coming to the command in the hope that the woman’s lawyer and those that facilitated the case would come to prove the allegations against him, he was interested in clearing his name, but they abandoned the case. At some point, we were convinced that the young man may be innocent of the allegations against him; and that it may just be a case of a relationship that went wrong. We had no lawful reason to detain anybody or continue with the case, so the matter was closed.”Obinna’s harrowing experience serves as a cautionary tale for those seeking love online. The case highlights the need for increased awareness and protection against romance scams and marital fraud, which can have devastating emotional and financial consequences for victims.