Release of American kidnapped more than a year in Nigeria

An American woman, who had gone to Nigeria on the promise of a marriage, was released after being kidnapped by a crook who also sexually assaulted her, police said on Sunday. The alleged perpetrator of this scam, Chukwuebuka Obiakuwhom, had met this American woman on Facebook before extorting some 48,000 dollars by promising her a marriage. "Police officers released an American national who was locked up in a hotel in Lagos against her will for more than a year," police spokesman Frank Mba said in a statement.

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"The victim, a retired American civil servant from Washington, arrived in Nigeria on February 13, 2019," where she was held hostage by the suspect who also abused her, the text added. The man was known to police for similar Internet fraud, the statement said.