By NewsDesk,
Men of the Lagos State Police Command has arrested a teenager, Olufowoke Emmanuel, alleged to be the brain behind the blackmail of female musician, Queen Salawa Abeni, with her nude photographs.
Emmanuel, a resident of Brentfield Avenue, Peace Estate, Magboro, Ogun State, was arrested by law enforcement officials after carrying out a technical diagnosis of the complaint made by the musician on the suspect to Lagos Police Command.
The Command noted that the 19-year-old National Diploma (ND) holder from Yaba College of Technology, Yaba was picked up by the Decoy Team of Rapid Response Squad (RRS) last Thursday.
It was gathered that the suspect was delayed owing to the outbreak lockdown imposed on lagos by the Federal Government following the spread of COVID-19 to Lagos state.
According to the Police, the suspect in his confession admitted to being the mastermind behind the ploy to publish some nude pictures of Waka Queen in exchange for money, adding that he was alone in the scheme.
“The suspect, a 2017/2018 Electrical Engineering student of Yabatech, disclosed that he saw the nude pictures in a memory card which he picked up on the floor in Yabatech sometime in November 2019.
“After downloading the nude photographs of Salawa Abeni on his phone, he picked up her mobile number from her Instagram page. On the 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 was even cursing the blackmailer unknown to her that I was the brain 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 disclosed.
Commenting on the arrest, CP Hakeem Odumosu stated that no individual would be allowed to commit a crime in Lagos from any State or escape to other States in Nigeria to evade arrest.
He advised guardians to monitor their wards, emphasizing that the internet is a fertile ground for opportunities but the State Command would not allow criminals to use it as a venue to exploit law-abiding Lagosians.
Recall that the veteran singer had in the heat of the moment taken to her Instagram page to call out blackmailer who is threatened to release her nude photos in April.
She also shared screenshots of her conversations with the blackmailer who then identified himself as Jason
Following Salawa complaints, the state’s Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, had directed the RRS Commander, DCP Olatunji Disu to fish out the suspect.
