A Nigerian Fraudster Convicted For 24 Years Pulls Off A Sh100M Heist From A Maximum Prison

Hope Olusegun Aroke, a convict serving 24 years for committing internet fraud is now under investigation after it emerged that he orchestrated a Sh100 million mega scam while in prison.

The man who was arrested in 2012 has been serving a 24-year sentence at the Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison, where a preliminary investigation has found he still had access to the internet.

In a statement on Tuesday, Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said it had received intelligence about the allegations and was faced with the “riddle” of how he was able to “continue to ply his ignoble trade” from inside the Lagos prison.

The Malaysia-based student was the “arrow head of an intricate web of internet fraud schemes that traverse two continents” that led to his arrest in 2012, the EFCC said.

In unclear circumstances, Aroke has receiveda to the internet and his phone. He had also been admitted to the Nigeria Police Hospital in Lagos for an “undisclosed ailment” and had been able to leave the facility to stay in hotels, meet with his wife and children, and attend social functions.

The convict, using a fictitious name Akinwunmi Sorinmade had open two bank accounts and bought a luxury car and homes during his time in prison, the EFCC had learnt. He had also been “in possession of his wife’s bank account token in prison, which he used to freely transfer funds.”

The Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison is managed by the Nigerian Correctional Service, which has not yet commented on the case.