Wichita, Kan. – Police officers from the Assistant Inspector-General (AIG) Zone 2 in Onikan have arrested two individuals, Elvis Osakpolo Edokpain, 23, and Kelly Osas Endgieen, 24, for their involvement in certificate forgery and internet fraud activities. The suspects are believed to have used the proceeds from these illegal activities to fund luxury lifestyles, including purchasing expensive cars and constructing lavish properties across the country.
The arrests were triggered after the Zone’s Anti-Corruption Unit received a tip-off about a group involved in the production and distribution of fake foreign certificates. With the help of intelligence gathered, law enforcement agents, under the direction of AIG Adegoke Fayoade, tracked the suspects, who had just returned from an overseas trip.
The investigation led the police to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos, where the suspects were being monitored. They were eventually apprehended at a bus stop near their hotel in Osapa-London, Lekki. Upon searching their luggage, authorities found forged documents, including a certificate from Blue Crest College in Ghana, registered to Edokpain, and an academic ID card from Academic City College linked to Endgieen. Further inspection revealed a transcript from Blue Crest University, as well as other forged documents, such as a letter of English proficiency and a recommendation letter.
The suspects confessed that they had never been enrolled in these institutions and had purchased the fake certificates through a Nigerian woman residing in Ghana. They explained that their main goal was to acquire Ghanaian student residency permits, which they successfully obtained after paying 26,000 Ghana cedis (about N2.6 million).
In addition to the forgery operation, Edokpain and Endgieen admitted to their involvement in online romance scams, where they impersonated an American soldier named “Captain Donald Rowe” on Instagram, claiming to be on a peacekeeping mission in Syria. They targeted individuals from Japan, Denmark, and China, convincing victims to pay for goods they claimed to be selling from Syria. The stolen money was laundered through blockchain wallets or foreign bank accounts before being transferred to Nigerian accounts.
The suspects also disclosed that they had international partners in countries such as the UK and South Africa, who helped facilitate the scam. Nigerian authorities have contacted the Ghanaian High Commission for additional details about the fraud operation and its local facilitators, while Interpol has been enlisted to track down international collaborators.
Both suspects, who attended secondary school in Benin City, expressed remorse for their actions, attributing their crimes to financial desperation and poverty.
