The Father, John Amadi
A teenager, Emmanuel Amadi, was arrested last week at Iyana Ishasi, Lagos, by men of the Area F Command, Ikeja, for cybercrime. He tells AFEEZ HANAFI how he went about the fraudulent actWhat is your name?
Emmanuel Amadi.
How old are you?
I am 19 years old.
What state are you from?
Ebonyi. I am an undergraduate – a 200-level physics student at the University of Ebonyi.
How long have you been into cybercrime?
I started last year.
How did you start?
I started blogging and from there I went into Forex trading and cryptocurrency, mostly Bitcoin.
How did you learn it?
I learnt it online via Youtube videos and articles.
How did you get people to trade with you?
I got my clients through advertisement on WhatsApp groups and some blogs.
How many people have fallen victims to your deals?
I do legit business with some people. It wasn’t every deal that didn’t work out. It is a risky business with a 50-50 chance.
How do you operate?
I would go to some Bitcoin trading sites and trade in cryptocurrencies. When the currency price goes high, I gain. But when the price does not rise or it falls, I lose and ultimately the person that gives me the money loses.
What went wrong in the deal between you and the complainant, Obina Emmanuel, in this case?
His wife first gave me N50,000 to trade and I paid her N19,500 as interest, in addition to her investment. There was a referral bonus of five per cent. She invited somebody and I gave her N5,000 referral bonus. I later paid the person up to N65,000. The person increased her investment to N150,000 and I gave her almost N100,000, including interest and referral bonus. Later, the woman invited his husband, Emmanuel, who invested N1m. He also invited his friend who invested N200,000. The wife also invested N60,000. The market was not good then. I traded with N200,000 but I lost and decided not to trade again.
What happened to the remaining N1,060,000?
I spent it to take care of personal things. I used it to buy clothes, shoes, an Infinix X4 phone and some other things I needed to be comfortable.
How did you handle your studies and trading together?
I had time for the two and they did not affect each other. It did not affect my performance in school.
What drove you into it?
I know about trading and I thought I could help people make a profit while I also benefit.
Why didn’t you return the remaining money?
It is non-refundable. The rule is that it is non-refundable unless I want to go against it. Since the money is non-refundable, I decided to spend it. After collecting the money from them, I stopped communicating with them. I didn’t tell them I invested N200,000 and lost.
Was your father aware of your fraudulent dealings?
No, I lied to him that a company in Ebonyi engaged me to render some IT services to them when the school was on long holidays. I needed full concentration to do those things very well. So, I needed to be in school where nobody would disturb me. I asked my friend to call my father and pretended as if he worked with the company.
What is your name?
John
Pastor John Amadi.
How old are you?
I am 53.
What is the name of your church?
The Word of Truth Church.
What is Emmanuel’s position in the family?
I have three children. He is the second child.
What do you know about this case?
Sometime last year during his holiday, he came home. After some time, he told me he was going back to Ebonyi. I asked him what he wanted to do there because the place is very far. I even regretted sending him to school in a far place like that where I wouldn’t be able to closely monitor what he is doing. He said he wanted to design some things for a company. He said the company had placed an advert to employ people who could design for traders and that he was selected. Then someone called me and told me he was Nnena Francis from one ‘Royal Company’ and that my son had been short-listed for the job – doing computer designs. The person begged me to allow my son to do the job. He said my son told them that he would not come unless I gave him permission. It was a tug of war before I got convinced. I never knew it was a dubious deal.
What happened afterwards?
He came back about three weeks after without any money. I asked him if the company did not pay him any remuneration for his service and he said they would pay him when they were paying workers’ salaries. I sent a message to the so-called Francis to express my anger. I felt bad. Last month, when he was on holiday again, my son came home with N500,000. He claimed he had been paid by the company and that he was asked to come back for the job. He told lies because he knew I would be mad at him if I was aware of what he was doing. I am a disciplined father.
Did you verify the payment from Francis?
He was the one who even called me. He said the work that my son did for the company was not very good and that I should allow him to come back to fix it. For the fact that he was paid N500,000 for the work, I allowed him to go.
What did you do with the money?
My son deposited it in my account. I told him we would use the money to change his school to Lagos so that I could properly monitor him. He collected some amount from the money. Meanwhile, there was a land we wanted to buy to build a church. I felt that if I kept the money, he would continue to take from it. I used it to buy the land though I had expectations of repaying the money so that we could use it to change his school. That was how I became involved in this case. He was aware I borrowed the money. We have not even paid all the money for the land, which is worth N1m.
When did you know the money was proceeds of fraud?
It was after the police arrested us and brought us here that I knew the true story. I was having devotion when I was told some people were outside looking for me. I had not even had my bath. I thought the money was income from a legal job. It did not occur to me that it could be fraudulent. That was why I didn’t spend it anyhow; rather I borrowed it and promised to refund it.
How did you feel when you knew the true story?
I felt bad, especially because of my career. I have promised to pay back the money, including the one he had spent. I only need some time to raise the money.
Where is his mother?
She is at home.
Was she aware of her son’s plan to go back to Ebonyi during the holidays?
I told her. How would she not know that her son was going back to such a far place?
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