‘N@ked girl in Abuja hotel room was second victim of Yahoo boy’- NSCDC boss

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) has disclosed that the lady rescued n@ked from a hotel room in Abuja was the second victim of the man arrested for the crime.

The suspect, identified as Joseph Efe, had first lodged in a hotel in Abuja where he tried to rob another lady, but she put up a strong fight as a result of which he absconded from the hotel and went to lodge in another hotel where he lured another girl.

This was disclosed by the NSCDC FCT Commandant, Dr. Olusola Odumosu during a press conference in Abuja on Friday.

Odumosu said the suspect would be handed over to the police to conclude the investigations and go ahead with the prosecution.

He noted that the 30-year-old suspect, Joseph Efe, was arrested after coming out of an Abuja hotel premises allegedly to meet an accomplice, leaving his victim tied up in the hotel room.

He said men of the NSCDC FCT Command who were at their post noticed that the suspect was behaving questionably and stopped him, but he took to his heels, leading the man to chase and catch up with him.

He said Efe was led back into the hotel room where the naked girl was found tied to a chair with transparent adhesive tape (Cellotape) and gagged to prevent her from screaming.

The victim, Olivia Chukwuemeka, was immediately rescued from the situation where she had been stripped naked.

While Parading the suspect, Odumosu said, the suspect confessed to being a Yahoo boy and that he had not been collecting money from the act so he decided to hunt for young girls on a dating site called ‘coded runs’ and that he operated in Port Harcourt, Lagos, Benin and Abuja.

He said preliminary investigation revealed that the suspect, is a serial fraudster (yahoo) and a thief, who specialised in luring ladies on dating sites into hotel rooms with the intention of robbing them of their phones and money.

He said the investigation also revealed that the suspect arrived in Abuja from Lagos on the 17th September, 2024 and lodged in a hotel adjacent to the old Federal Secretariat, Area 1.

Odumosu said his first victim on arrival in Abuja was another lady he invited to his hotel room but could not succeed in his evil act because the lady was able to put up some resistance.

The noise attracted hotel staff at the said hotel, who came into his room. He succeeded in escaping from the scene due to poor handling of the situation by the hotel security.

Upon his escape from the first hotel, he then proceeded to the next hotel where he checked in at about 2:30 am on Wednesday, 18th September 2024.

He invited his latest victim who arrived at about 9 am. He threatened her, putting fear in her and holding her by the throat, the frightened lady succumbed to her abductor, she was then stripped and bound.

On checking the victim’s phone he discovered the lady had no money in her bank account, he then took the victim’s Android phone and left the hotel room.

It was in the process of escaping from the hotel premises that his movement became suspicious.

While addressing journalists, Odumosu said “Let it be made abundantly clear that the video in circulation on this incident was not shot by the operatives of the NSCDC, we only became aware of its existence as it went viral on social media.

“Furthermore, as a Corps, we are duty bound and empowered to do due diligence before taking necessary steps towards prosecuting or handing over a suspect as the case may be to any relevant sister agency”.

After preliminary investigation, the suspect and the victim will be handed over to the relevant agency for any further necessary action.

The FCT Commandant also warned all hotel owners to be more vigilant, and that they should do more to protect their guests and hotel facilities as well as ensure their premises are not used as a place to perpetuate crime.

The Commandant who described the way the victim was tied by her abductor as inhuman cautioned all young ladies involved in ‘hook up’ to desist from such acts that will endanger their lives.