Designer offers N2.7M reward for info on friend who defrauded him of N42M

A Nigerian product designer, Elvis Obi offers a $2,000 reward to anyone with useful information that could lead to the arrest of one Raphael Udo, accused of defrauding him and his colleagues of over N42 million (approximately $30,000).

The alleged victim in a post via the X platform, @theobileonard alleges that the suspect once resided in his apartment, and fabricated multiple lies, such as needing financial aid due to a terminally ill nephew and facing financial difficulties with the Federal Inland Revenue Services.

In an initial tweet, “Hi everyone, this person defrauded my friends and I. His name is RAPHAEL UDO. We will be offering $2,000 (USD) to anyone who has info on him or knows of his whereabouts.”

In a long thread, he gave a narration of how they met and what transpired to the alleged scam of over N42M.

How my friend defrauded me, others of $30,000

Roughly three months ago, The dude in the video came to my apartment in Lagos sharing that he had some financial problems with the FIRS(Federal Inland Revenue Services).

He mentioned how he got locked out of his funds of over N107,000,000 (USD 71,000+). We (my friends and I), were sympathetic to his cause and decided to lend a helping hand.

Before I continue, let me talk about how I got to know him. Raphael and I met on a video game platform (Fortnite) in 2023. We connected with each other and played a few games together. His game tag is Okila_R_ (For anyone who might know him by this tag)

I was happy to connect with him because he presented himself as a well-skilled 3D & Motion Artist. He also shared his Upwork profile with me, which was very convincing.

Here is a detailed breakdown of the series of events that played out while he lived with us (Myself and my flatmates).

How Raphael moved into our apartment with us

Raphael was shuffling between hotels and apartments in January before he finally moved in with us early February. He mentioned he needed a computer to continue working as he didn’t have any at the time, so, I offered to help with the rental.

I sent him the money to purchase the computer on rental about three times and he never for once, received any computer.

He kept on spinning lies around how there was either a delay or how the money miraculously went into thin air without achieving its purpose. At the time, I believed all these.

We also had to raise about N1,700,000 to help assist with the admission of his dying nephew into the hospital because according to him, the child had suffered internal bleeding after falling off a trampoline.

He used this and other tactics to coerce us into giving him more cash. Later in March, he brought up the need to travel to Abuja to help sort out the FIRS issue he had. We boarded our flights (Which I paid for) and headed to Abuja.

We arrived in Abuja (Myself, him and my Friend) and booked a reservation. The next day after we arrived, we started making steps towards resolving the FIRS issue he had.

Details of some transactions made to Raphael

Okay, let me make this clear. I can see reasons to why some people might misinterpret this as helping him without any expectations or just dashing off our money.

We did not just help him. We helped with the agreement that we would be fully refunded once he recovers his money. We are also not looking for any form of interest. We just need to be refunded what we’re owed. Nothing more, nothing less.

Watch the video below …

Hi everyone, this person defrauded my friends and I. His name is RAPHAEL UDO.

We will be offering $2,000 (USD) to anyone who has info on him or knows of his whereabouts. pic.twitter.com/VYfi1yKnse

— Elvis Obi (@TheObiLeonard) May 3, 2024