The Lagos State Police Command has warned single ladies, who are desperately searching for husbands, to beware of fraudsters disguising as prospective suitors. The police said the aim of such suitors is to dupe them.
The police warning followed the arrest, last month, of a man who allegedly went about town looking for rich single women to dupe through fake marriage proposals.
The suspect, Chris Agonna, specializes in approaching desperate ladies in banks, oil companies and other big organizations, with fake marriage proposals.
He allegedly married a woman, whose name was given as Chizoba Igwilo, in a sham wedding. The woman reportedly petitioned the police and the suspect was arrested by operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) on the orders of the police commissioner.
Igwilo accused Agonna of defrauding her of N3.7million after marrying her in a phony wedding.
The petitioner, an official of a second generation bank, alleged that Agonna lured her into the fake marriage by claiming that he was an apprentice in a tile shop.
“My family and I footed the bill of our purported marriage but I later discovered that the marriage certificate of the wedding we contracted at a registry was fake. I decided to investigate the authenticity of the marriage certificate when I started receiving threat calls from a lady who identified herself as Stella and an employee of another second generation bank. She alleged that my husband has been married to her for long and that I should desist from seeing him or having anything to do with him. I was shocked and when I confronted Chris, he became angry and violent.”
She said further investigations revealed that Chris had defrauded other women bankers in Abuja and Port Harcourt through false marriages with them.
She said: “After the confrontation, Chris started keeping late nights and when I asked why, he threatened to kill me with a machete if I continued to pester his life. He invited his younger siblings and they came to the house which I rented with my money and threw my things out. Chris also deceived me to part with N1.7 million, which he used to buy a house in his name.
“I have discovered that Chris is a fraudster and I want my money back. I lost my pregnancy due to the stress and since the marriage is fake, I would like the police to assist me to recover my money and jewellery, which Chris, his brother and sister stole from me. As if this was not enough, Chris would not allow me into the house I paid for. Since December, I have been living in a hotel.”
Agonna denied the allegations, saying they were aimed at destroying him.
“I regret knowing Chizoba because since I met her, she has cost me nothing but pains. She was the one who packed her things and left the house. I told her I could not afford the house at Abule–Ado, as I was managing myself at Okokomiako. But she said it was too far from her work.
“She agreed to everything that we did, including the house we bought. I brought part of the money and she lent me the rest - N1.7 million - and I promised to pay her back.
“For her to come out and report me to the police over what I don’t to know is a gimmick to spoil my reputation. She is the one going about gossiping about me. Since she has packed her things and left the house, that is the end, and I am ready to let her go. The allegation that I am fleecing women into marriage is all in her bid to rubbish my name as the lady she mentioned at Diamond Bank is my account officer and she knows her. But she has been going there to embarrass her. It is a lie that our marriage is a fraud. The photographs and family members are here to attest to the marriage. I spent a lot of money to marry her. I still love her and I feel my wife needs deliverance from marine spirits, who are bent on destroying her marriage.”
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