A 39-year-old man, Adewale (surname withheld) who was recently arrested by Osun State Police Command for allegedly claiming to be a Nigerian Army officer and defrauding a lady introduced to him as a potential wife, has given the reason for heaping lies upon lies, saying that he needed to sustain the first one he told the pastor of the church he was attending.

Adewale was arrested on Tuesday by the Cybercrime Unit of the State Criminal Investigation Department, Osogbo, for calling himself a Major in the Nigerian Army. Not only that, having deceived his pastor about his profession, and after he was introduced to a lady, Adeola (not real name) when he expressed the need for a wife, Adewale not only defrauded her of N1.5 million, he also satisfied his fleshly desires with the deception.

The Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abiodun Ojelabi, who confirmed the story when contacted, told Saturday Tribune how the police got the information that led to the arrest of the suspect.

According to the PPRO, the suspect, after joining a church in the state capital in 2025, became friendly with the pastor and told him that he was an Army Captain. By the end of the same year, he announced his promotion to a Major. He did not stop at that. He collected N1.5 million from the lady in the guise of adding to the money to get her a car, but ended up spending the money with no car in sight.

In an investigation, Saturday Tribune gathered that when the suspect joined the church in January 2025, he got familiar with the pastor, telling him that he was a member of the same denomination in Ibadan before moving to Osogbo. As a Captain by rank in the Nigerian Army, he reportedly told the pastor that on his return from a peace keeping mission, his wife had left him for another man, making him a single father of one. He expressed his need for another female companion that he would marry.

Believing him to be a good Christian, it was learnt that the pastor later introduced him to the lady. Seeing him as an Army officer made the lady and the pastor not dig deep into his background.

A courtship began between the two in October 2025. In December same year, he told Adeola that he had been promoted to the rank of Major. With the belief that she would soon be legally married to the Major, the lady started rolling with him.

During the relationship, precisely in February this year, she told the suspect that she needed to purchase a vehicle, and he told her to give him N1.5 million, which he intended to use to get a vehicle at auction by the Nigerian Army. He promised to add N2 million to hit the target of N3.5 million worth of the car the lady wanted. The money was paid into his OPAY account.

However, days became weeks, and weeks turned into months without the lady seeing any car. When questioned, he started giving different excuses.

The bubble burst when he deceived his wife-to-be that he had been deployed to Kwara State on peace keeping mission. Being a little skeptical, the lady decided to go to his residence. To her utmost surprise, she found out Adewale cooling off in his residence.

She quickly informed her brother that she didn’t think that the man belonged to the profession he was claiming. By that time, they had already engaged in intimate relationship.

Feeling so used, cheated, and defrauded, the lady decided to lodge a complaint with the police.

It was further learnt that when a search warrant was executed in the suspect’s house, his framed picture as a Nigerian Army Major was found hanging in the suspect’s living room.

During an interview, Adewale, who is 39 years old, hails from Ilesa, and lives at Idi Ogungun, Ayetoro Road, Osogbo-Iragbiji expressway, told Saturday Tribune: “I’m into Computer Engineering and music director. I’m an HND graduate in Computer Science and Engineering from Kwara State Polytechnic. I finished in 2013. I’ve worked with computer centres.”

Speaking on what led to his arrest by the police, Adewale explained: “It is true that I dated a lady, Adeola. I met her through my church pastor. I joined the church in January 2025. I told the pastor that I was a single father who needed a wife. I also told him of my being a military officer. I was truthful about being a single father but told a lie about being in the military profession.

“I have one child from a broken marriage. My ex-wife and I were together in Abuja before she left me as a result of my financial incapability. That was in 2022. I left Abuja for Ibadan to stay with a family member.”

When asked why he told lies despite his religious belief that frowns at such, Adewale responded: “On a Sunday evening, the pastor came to my house to greet me as a new member. While we were in a conversation, he asked about my wife and children. That was why I told him of my single status, though a father. I told him my age and expressed the desire to have a wife.

“About three months after the discussion, the pastor called on a Sunday, after church service. He asked if I would accept a lady he had in mind to introduce to me. I answered in the affirmative. He linked me with Adeola towards the end of September 2025.

“We started meeting in October. I proposed marriage to her and she accepted. We started having intimate relationships in December.”

On why he deceived her into believing that he was promoted in a profession he didn’t belong to, the suspect simply replied: “I just said it.”

On the N1.5 million he fraudulently collected from the lady, Adewale said: “She told me that she wanted to have a car, a Toyota Camry 2005 model. I checked online and saw an auction about to be done by the Customs. I told her that I saw a car that would cost N3.5 million. I asked her to get N1.5 million, promising to add N2 million to complete the money to be paid for the car.

“Later, I noticed that the auction I saw online was not genuine, but I couldn’t return the money to her because I had spent almost everything. Even, during the time the money was with me, she asked me to lend her some amount at different times, and I was giving her in bits from the money of the car, totalling almost N300,000 that she collected from me. However, I didn’t let her know what I was doing. She thought the money she was borrowing in bits was from my private pocket.

“She kept asking for the car, but I made her believe I had not been able to borrow the money I intended adding to the one she gave me. At that time, I just started a studio work, so I bought two laptops and music gadgets such as microphones and others.

“It is true that I also told her that I was going for peace keeping in Kwara State.”

On the portrait photo of him in an Army uniform seen hanging in his living room, the suspect disclosed: “I used artificial intelligence to design the photograph in which I wore a military ceremonial uniform.”

How my lies were discovered

“Adeola came to my house during the time I told her I was in Kwara and she saw me. That was when I made her to know that I had been deceiving her. I pleaded for forgiveness and she forgave me. Later, she travelled to her hometown until her return two days before my arrest, at about 4pm. We were together for about one and a half hours. When she wanted to leave, I went with her to see her off. However, on my way out with her, I saw two men in military uniform. They asked if I was a soldier, I said no. I later discovered that they were Air Force officers. They took me to their office in their vehicle and I wrote a statement. From there, they took me to State Criminal Investigation Department, Osogbo.”

Expressing regret for his actions, Adewale pleaded: “I’m sorry for all I did. I feel so bad and remorseful. It was the first lie I told the pastor that I wanted to sustain. Since our relationship started, I have been faithful to her, except those initial lies. I wanted to marry her. I know she truly loved and trusted me.

“I plead with the government to have mercy on me. I promise not to do such again.” (Saturday Tribune)