Police have arrested Essien Emmanuel Akpama, a 20-year-old international romance fraud suspect, over an alleged scam involving more than N1 billion.

In a statement on Tuesday, Mohammed Adeola, spokesperson of the airport police command, Lagos, said Akpama was arrested on Monday, January 5, by operatives of the anti-fraud unit while attempting to board a flight.

Adeola said the arrest followed “months of intensive intelligence-led surveillance and monitoring based on credible information”.

Akpama is accused of defrauding multiple victims in the United States of America through romance and celebrity scam schemes, with losses running into over one million US dollars.

“Preliminary investigations revealed that the suspect, who previously resided in Calabar, Cross River State, relocated to Lagos State on February 23, 2024, from where he coordinated and executed several fraudulent schemes,” the statement reads.

The police spokesperson said in one instance in 2024, Akpama allegedly deceived a 47-year-old female victim in the US into transferring one million dollars under the guise of purchasing property in Florida for an orphanage.

Adeola said the funds were solicited through a cryptocurrency scheme known as “BullRun 2.0”, formerly called “4 Way Mirror Money”.

Adeola said the suspect posed as “a 60-year-old orthopaedic surgeon working with the United Nations in Nigeria”, claiming the devices were needed to maintain secure communication with his victim.

He added that Akpama allegedly defrauded another 70-year-old female victim in the US of N25,709,400, the equivalent of $18,000, through the purchase of gift cards, high-end mobile phones, and computer equipment shipped to Nigeria at his direction.

Items recovered from the suspect include a MacBook Pro 14-inch, an iPhone 17 Pro Max, two Google Pixel 10 Pro XL devices, and one Google Pixel 10 Pro, valued at N8,141,367.

Adeola said the case has been transferred to the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) special fraud unit for further investigation, adding that the suspect will be arraigned in court at the conclusion of investigations.

Daniel Bwala, Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Policy Communication, says Peter Obi will not become the presidential or vice-presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC).

Speaking in an interview on The Clarity Zone Podcast, Bwala claimed that Obi lacks the capacity to serve as director-general of any coalition movement.

The presidential aide also added that the former Anambra governor would eventually contest the next election on a different platform.

He said Obi lost control of the political structure he built after the 2023 election, including his influence in the national assembly.

“After the election, he lost everybody he was leading. He had members in the House of Representatives. How many are there in the national assembly?” Bwala asked.

“The only governor he had… is the governor with him or with us? In fact, I have not seen one that identifies with him at the moment. All the elections he has gone across Nigeria supporting candidates… all of them failed.

“The army of Trojans that he has on social media, they attack people. They say you are two-faced, that you change party. That’s what they do every day.

“But when you say their master and hero has been changing party like a player in the Premier League changes clubs every season, they don’t like it.”

The presidential aide also accused Obi of hypocrisy over party loyalty, saying the former Anambra governor has switched political platforms repeatedly.

“He started with PDP, then went to APGA. In APGA, he came back to PDP. From PDP, he went to Labour,” he said.

“Right now, when you hear people talk about being between the devil and the deep blue sea, he is between ADC and Labour.

“He will not be the presidential candidate, he will not be the vice-presidential candidate. Peter Obi is going to run on a platform other than Labour and other than ADC.”

Bwala further said Obi will not secure even a quarter of the votes he recorded in the 2023 presidential election.

Obi, a former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the last general election, polled 6,101,533 votes to come a distant third behind candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The presidential aide said Obi’s political rise was driven by a fleeting opportunity rather than enduring grassroots strength.

Bwala also described Obi as “an actor” in Nigeria’s political space, noting that his appeal was based on “make-believe” rather than political reality.

Friday December 05, 2025 pic.twitter.com/fDUbPpabad

— D. H Bwala (@BwalaDaniel) January 5, 2026

Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua is seriously considering retirement from boxing, according to his uncle, Adedamola Joshua, who spoke with newsmen.

The 36-year-old boxer, who survived a fatal car crash in Nigeria that claimed the lives of two of his close friends and team members, made the decision known to his family in private following last week’s tragedy.

“The major thing there is that he has retired from boxing. That is one thing that makes us glad because each time he’s fighting in the ring, we are always carried away emotionally,” Adedamola told newsmen during a visit to the family home in Sagamu on Monday morning.

“Each time he’s knocked down, it is just like the heart is coming out of our chest. All these emotional feelings whenever he’s fighting, it’s too much trauma for us, also. Now that he has said that he’s leaving while the ovation is highest, we are happy.”

A journalist asked if Joshua had communicated this decision to the family.

“Yes,” the uncle confirmed.

The boxing star has also committed to providing lifelong support to the families of his two close friends, Sina Ghami and Latif ‘Latz’ Ayodele, who died in the car accident near Lagos last Monday.

Joshua broke his public silence on Sunday, sharing photographs with the bereaved relatives on Instagram. His post carried the caption “My Brothers Keeper”, accompanied by two heart emojis and a military helmet symbol representing protection. The phrase references a biblical passage from Genesis 4:9, conveying a moral obligation to look after others.

A source within Joshua’s camp told UK publication The Sun, “AJ is fiercely loyal to his friends and their families and will be there for them for the rest of their lives. He’s had the same team around him for his whole career, and that team included Sina and Latz.”

Ghami served as Joshua’s strength and conditioning coach, while Ayodele worked as his personal trainer, making both men integral members of his boxing camp.

The pair had travelled to Nigeria with Joshua to visit his family when tragedy struck. Their Lexus SUV collided with a stationary truck on the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Both Ghami and Ayodele were killed instantly at the scene.

Joshua had to be extracted from the wreckage by rescuers. The boxer was rushed to the hospital but escaped with only minor injuries.

Joshua attended an emotional funeral service at the London Central Mosque on Sunday, joining other mourners to pay his respects. The two coffins were positioned side by side as the Janaza – the Islamic funeral prayer – was read. Hundreds of members of the public had gathered outside the gates of the mosque before the coffins were taken to a nearby crematorium for the funeral service. A wake followed in the afternoon.

One of the indigenes in Sagamu, Adeniji Taiwo, expressed relief that Joshua survived the crash while mourning the loss of the two friends.

“We thank God we didn’t lose our son, and for those who lost their children, God will help us to comfort them,” Taiwo said.

“I believe the fear will be there for him not to come back home, but I will advise him to come back home because he can’t leave his father’s place. This is his home.

“We feel bad that happened to our son, who was already almost home when he had the accident, but we thank God, and we pray nothing like that will happen to him again. There is nothing that can’t happen anywhere. God will continue to be with him, and all of us; no one in Remo wishes him evil, he is our glory.”

Joshua’s uncle also addressed concerns about the boxer’s relationship with Nigeria following the tragedy.

“There are a lot of things we have heard, but this is a Christian family, and everything we take with faith,” he said.

“Once something like that happens, emotionally, you can say anything, but as time goes on, you know this is (always) your root.”

On Friday, the Ogun State Police Command confirmed that Adeniyi Kayode, who was driving the car with Joshua as a passenger, had been charged over the crash at the Sagamu Magistrate Court. He was charged with causing death by dangerous driving, reckless and negligent driving, driving without due care, and driving without a valid driver’s licence. The case has been adjourned until January 20.

Kayode’s lawyer told the Daily Mail, “My client has pleaded not guilty and what happened was an accident. I haven’t had a full chance to speak with him yet, but I know he is saying the brakes did not work.

“I also understand that the journey started in Lagos and that initially Anthony had got into the front seat, but the driver asked him to swap seats. He did this because Anthony is a big fellow, and he couldn’t see the wing mirror properly, so he asked him to move, and he sat behind the driver. From what I understand, Latif was in front and then changed seats with Anthony.”

Joshua, who was born in Watford to Nigerian parents, was on holiday in Nigeria following his sixth-round knockout win over YouTuber-turned-boxer Jake Paul in Miami on December 19.