They said they have also arrested a man for stabbing his brother to death.
The police in Imo State, South-east Nigeria, say they have arraigned a 30-year-old "notorious advance-fee fraudster" for allegedly defrauding women with fake marriage proposals.
The suspect, Wisdom Mmaduka, was arraigned at the Federal High Court, Owerri, and remanded at a police facility in the state, the police said.
The police spokesperson in the state, Henry Okoye, disclosed this during a press conference at the police headquarters in Oweri on Friday.
A text of the conference was obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, Saturday morning.
How the suspect defrauded women
Mr Okoye, an assistant superintendent of police, said the suspect was arrested after he allegedly defrauded one of the women, identified as Judith, under the pretext of marrying her.
Judith had given the suspect the sum of N1 million, (N1,400,000) via ATM transfer after the suspect promised to marry her, according to the police.
"In the course of the investigation, the accused revealed that his modus operandi is to go after wealthy unmarried ladies promising them marriage and, in the process, defraud them of their hard-earned money," Mr Okoye said.
"He has a syndicate he uses as parents and in-laws that he takes these unsuspecting young ladies to in his village in Mbaise for confirmation of his intention.
"On seeing these innocent women will believe he has good intentions; thus, he will steal their ATM cards, withdraw all the money in their accounts, and fade into thin air," he stated.
"Amazingly, on his arrest, six ladies he has defrauded surfaced at the (police) station confirming being defrauded by this same suspect of huge sums of money with the same promise of marriage."
The police said one red highlander SUV which he allegedly stole from one of his unsuspecting victims, Rose Mgbe from Cross River State, was recovered from him.
"More so, he has a duplex he allegedly built at Naze with the money he got from his fraud dealings," Mr Okoye added
Killing
Mr Okoye said the police in the state, in a separate operation, arrested a 72-year-old man for allegedly stabbing his 35-year-old brother to death in Umuoba, a community in Owerri North Local Government Area of the state.
The suspect, Donald Akalonu, was said to have repeatedly stabbed the brother, Achilike, to death during a "minor quarrel" on 1 September.
The police spokesperson said another member of the family, Donald, reported the incident to the police.
He said the suspect was arrested following "painstaking investigating efforts" of police detectives at the State Criminal Intelligence and Investigation Homicide Department (SCIID).
"The body of the deceased has since been evacuated and deposited at the morgue for preservation while the suspect will be arraigned in court upon completion of the investigation," he said.
Another Killing
Mr Okoye said, in a similar development, police have arrested a 20-year-old man, Chukwuebuka Ogugu, for allegedly shooting his 25-year-old friend, Ifeanyichukwu Ogukwe, to death in Obolo Nzerem, a community in Ehime Mbano Local Government Area of the state.
The police spokesperson said the alleged murder was reported by a relative of the deceased Ekwutosi Ogukwe on 18 August which prompted the arrest of the suspect at the scene of the crime by detectives of the SCIID at about 6:25 p.m. of the same day.
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"On interrogation, the suspect confessed that he killed his friend but stated that it was not intentional, that he was servicing his late father's single-barrel gun in preparation for usual hunting activities that faithful evening when he accidentally discharged the gun with the discharged pellets hitting his said friend that visited him on his head and chest, thus bleeding to death on the spot," the police said.
"Accordingly, the body of the deceased has been evacuated and deposited at the morgue while the gun has been recovered and registered as exhibit. The suspect will be arraigned in court upon completion of the ongoing investigation by the SCIID," Mr Okoye added.
Arrest of other crime suspects
The police spokesperson said police, in separate operations, equally arrested 16 other crime suspects for various offences in the state.
The offences, according to the police, ranged from armed robbery, IPOB/ESN terrorism activities, stealing, receiving stolen properties, unlawful possession of firearms and cultism.
