*Accomplice Martins Abhulimhen Exposes Scam After Fight Over Sharing Proceeds, Tells Victim “It’s A Lie From Pit Of Hell”

A Nigerian socialite, Nzube Henry Ikeji, has been accused of posing as the Crown Prince of Dubai, Sheikh Hamdan Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, to scam a Romanian woman out of millions of dollars in an elaborate romance fraud.

According to investigations by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) revealed that Ikeji allegedly ran a syndicate targeting foreign women seeking love online.

The victim, identified only as Laura, said she was contacted on LinkedIn three years ago by a man claiming to be Dubai’s crown prince, who initially sought her advice on humanitarian projects before turning the interaction into a romantic relationship.

As the relationship deepened, Laura was persuaded to meet a supposed financial manager in London to help set up a Barclays account. The man, later identified by British police as Martins Abhulimhen, allegedly posed under a false name “Matthew Cros” and claimed to manage royal finances.

Laura was later given access to an online account showing about £202 million in her name. To withdraw the funds, she was repeatedly asked to pay fees, eventually sending about £2.5 million before realising the account was fake.

Internal disputes among the alleged scammers later exposed Ikeji’s identity to the victim.

Back in Nigeria, Mr Ikeji was having a bitter fight with his co-conspirators over how to share Ms Laura’s money. The Nigerian man had grown even greedier, investigations surmised.

A new message from Mr Abhulimhen, whom she had earlier met in London, heightened her suspicions. He told Ms Laura that she was under the influence of an African black magic spell cast by the man impersonating the Emirati crown prince.

“African magic juju and voodoo he has used on you to make you believe he was real prince to marry you,” Mr Abhulimhen wrote to her via an encrypted messaging app.

Ms Laura enquired about her multimillion-dollar account in London, whether it was real.

“It’s a lie from the pit of hell,” the financial manager said, exposing the antics of the Yahoo Boy.

Ms Laura sought clarification from the supposed prince, confronting him with the new information. But the fake prince dismissed her concerns, claiming that his financial adviser only wanted to destroy their relationship.

“Matthew has targeted planned (sic) against my relationship with you,” read the chat from the fake prince that Ms Laura had saved as Sheikh Hamdan.

At this point, the Romanian woman realised she was being scammed and begged for a refund.

“How can you be like this, a person with no soul,” Ms Laura wrote to the impersonator.

Feeling betrayed by Mr Ikeji’s greed in sharing the proceeds of fraud, the co-conspirator snitched and told Ms Laura that the fake prince was Nzube Henry Ikeji.

The co-conspirator further shared videos of Mr Henry’s new house, crucial information that helped journalists track him down to his sprawling mansion in an estate in Abuja.

OCCRP journalists traced him to Abuja through his social media posts showcasing a lavish lifestyle, luxury cars, designer shopping trips, and multiple mansions.

OCCRP’s Matt Sarnecki travelled to Abuja to meet his Nigerian colleague, Chikezie Omeje, who helped uncover Mr Ikeji’s whereabouts.

Mr Ikeji’s digital footprint led the OCCRP right to him, as pictures of his luxury lifestyle were splashed across his Instagram page. The identity of his wife, Confidence Amara Ikeji, was also unveiled, given that the couple often vacationed abroad, travelling in business class.

In one Instagram reel, the couple went shopping at a luxury Louis Vuitton store in the UK, with the wife dressed in fur and posing with many shopping bags.

Videos on his Instagram page show that he once travelled to London with his wife and son and bought items from the Louis Vuitton shop, including luxury wristwatches and a car.

One of the videos on his Instagram page shows him throwing bundles of naira during a performance by Davido, a Nigerian music star, in Asaba, Delta state capital.

An Instagram post made by his wife about their new mansion in Abuja provided the first lead.

Mrs Ikeji, whose Instagram username is ‘prettyfident’, uploaded a post thanking God for blessing her family with “another mansion in another city”.

“Forever grateful, Lord,” she captioned the post of the sprawling mansion on Instagram.

After some time, the fake Dubai Crown Prince posted a picture of himself alongside one of the biggest real estate developers in Nigeria.

For several days, Omeje said he went round Abuja to check the developer’s estate and compared them with the images and videos of the mansion posted by the impersonator.

Omeje later located the mansion of the person posing as the Dubai Crown Prince in Abuja.

Mr Omeije drove to several estates in Abuja in his hunt for the fake crown prince of Dubai. After a long search, the journalist found the house with Mr Ikeji standing shirtless on the balcony of its upper floor.

When confronted, Ikeji denied the allegations but admitted knowing Abhulimhen, insisting the funds he received were donations to his foundation.

Omeje approached the man posing as the Dubai Crown Prince at the Abuja mansion and asked him if he knew Laura from Romania. He denied knowing her.

When asked if he had told Laura that he was the Dubai Crown Prince, he responded by questioning the journalist’s source.

After a series of questions, he asked the journalist how he had gained access to his residence: “But how did you get to my house?”

Martins Abhulimhen

When questioned about “Dr Martins Abhulimhen” and whether Dr Martins sent him money from the UK, he said such enquiries should be directed to his lawyer.

“I would prefer this question you are asking me now, you consult me in the office, or you meet me or meet my legal team,” he said.

Mr Ikeji also purchased a Lexus 570, a 2020 Range Rover Vogue, and luxury watches, including a Hublot. He was so loud with his wealth that he earned the nickname ‘Access Money’ from friends and others.

An Igbo man, Mr Ikeji, holds a traditional title in the North, as the Sarkin Gabas Matasan of Nasarawa. He was also honoured with the chieftaincy title of the Ojichukwu Ndi Igbo na South East in 2024.

Both men are highly connected and they have been pictured with powerful people in Nigeria and abroad, including the Inspector General of the Police Kayode Egbetokun and his wife, Governor of Lagos State Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Chief of Staff to the President Femi Gbajabiamila, Senate President Godswill Akpabio and the Federal Capital Territory Minister Nyesom Wike, among others.

The alleged scammers have also mixed with Cubana Chief and Obi Cubana, as well as Arthur Eze and other influential Nigerians.

Like Mr Abhulimhen, the fake Emirati crown prince also has a humanitarian foundation that shares rice and other staples with the less privileged.

Mr Abhulimhen’s pictures show he has been photographed with prominent personalities, including then-President Muhammadu Buhari, former Governor Nasir El-Rufai, and a London mayor.

Investigation by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) showed that Nzube Henry Ikeji, a 31-year-old Nigerian who founded Nzube Ikeji Foundation, allegedly posed as the Dubai Prince while 60-year-old Dr. Martins Abhulimhen who is the founder of Jose Foundation played the role of the financial manager of the prince.

Mr Ikeji has denied culpability in the $2.5 million scam, claiming international money transfers from Mr Abhulimhen’s account were donations to his foundation.

Mr Abhulimhen, on his part, resigned his position as president of the Jose Foundation. He failed to respond to OCCRP’s enquiries about his alleged involvement in the scam.

A UK court has since seized £113,000 from Abhulimhen’s account for restitution to the victim, while Nigerian, British, and Romanian authorities continue investigations.

The investigation revealed that Laura approached the United Kingdom (UK) police with the photograph her partner had taken during a meeting with the financial manager in London. The financial manager was later identified as Martins Abhulimhen.

The UK police reportedly informed her that Abhulimhen was under investigation over suspicious funds, which were coincidentally Laura’s money.

Funds were said to have been transferred from Abhulimhen’s account in the UK to Ikeji’s account in Nigeria.

Over a period of two years, Laura wired over $2.5 million to the alleged scammers which the London Metropolitan Police traced the money to Abhulimhen’s accounts in the UK and Ikeji’s accounts in Nigeria.

No charges have been filed so far. The Nigerian government also confirmed that it is investigating the matter. So far, Messrs Ikeji and Abhulimhen have not been charged.

According to reports, OCCRP complained that YouTube took down the full video on the investigation.

“@OCCRP they took down the full video on YouTube. Dear @YouTube How does investigative reporting equate to harassment and bullying?” a post stated.

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