“Our ability to manufacture fraud now exceeds our ability to detect it” – Al Pacino.
More often than not, people working nine-to-five, businessmen, artisans and traders venture into businesses and adventures that could fetch them additional incomes. They take these steps to sustain themselves, cater for their family and fulfil lifelong dreams.
This was exactly what Stella (surname withheld) had in mind when she subscribed to a Facebook platform that promotes trading among women.
It was on the social media platform that Stella met Adaku Asinobi-Metu, a lawyer who claimed to be a Canadian immigration consultant and facilitator.
When Stella thought she had known Asinobi-Metu enough, she discussed her future plans of potentially migrating to Canada with the immigration consultant.
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The plan did not, however, go as planned as Asinobi-Metu defrauded Stella and her friends who thought they could also key into the opportunity, of over N200 million.
MEETING ASINOBI-METU IN 2020
Adaku Asinobi-Metu
“I met Adaku via a Facebook platform that promoted trading among women in 2020. The platform is owned by a wealth architect,” Stella told FIJ in an interview in early January.
“The platform had hundreds of women as members. As time went on, the owner of the platform broke her members into smaller groups so as to further foster business relations and cordiality among them.
“After we were broken into smaller groups, members were encouraged to patronise one another. It was in the group I belonged to that Adaku introduced herself as a lawyer and a Canadian immigration consultant/agent/facilitator.
The Agreement Stella Signed With Asinobi-Metu
“After she introduced herself to the group, I chatted her up privately, letting her know I would like to have a second residence because of my son who has a health challenge. More importantly, I wanted to give my children a second residential option.”
When Stella thought she had known Asinobi-Metu enough to the point of trusting her with her money, she requested to know what it would cost her to migrate to Canada with her three children.
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“She told me the residency package she planned processing for me and my children would cost N16 million,” Stella said.
“She also said the first phase of the process would involve her facilitating the procurement of 51 per cent ownership of a small business domiciled in Canada on my behalf. The second phase would involve her filing application for permanent residency with the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), also on my behalf. She subsequently gave me agreement papers to sign in July 2021.
“In the end, I paid her N14 million out of the N16 million she was asking for and she subsequently disappeared into thin air. She also ended up blocking me on all platforms and became unreachable to date.
“Presently, when people she is owing place phone calls to her, she would tell them she is in Canada, she is in London, but we do not exactly know where she is.”
At the time Stella was relating with Asinobi-Metu, she also directly introduced six other close associates of hers to the immigration consultant.
Subsequently, the associates also in turn introduced their friends and relatives to the immigration agent. This then led to an increase in the number of people Asinobi-Metu defrauded.
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STELLA’S BROTHER WAS NOT ALSO SPARED
Adaku Asinobi-Metu
Francis*, Stella’s brother, was also defrauded by Asinobi-Metu. He had been introduced to the Canadian immigration consultant by his sister when she thought her business was genuine and could be trusted.
“I got to know Adaku Asinobi-Metu through my sister. She was supposed to assist me, my wife and my daughter with our Canadian migration plan,” Francis told FIJ.
“After she proposed that I travel to Canada, using the study option, I sent her over N3 million as initial payment.
“When she received the money from me, I noticed she did not take any step to show that she was indeed working on what I paid her to do for me.”
After sensing what looked like a fraud, Francis demanded a refund from Asinobi-Metu.
Rather than make the refund, however, the lawyer reported her creditor to the police just to scare him away from taking further actions against her.
“Just because I asked her to pay me back my money, she went to report me and my wife at Force Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon, that we were harassing her,” said Francis.
“She did that just to intimidate and make us not ask for a refund again.
“After several weeks, she ended up paying me back all she owed.”
Francis further told FIJ about the other damages and setbacks Asinobi-Metu’s actions caused him.
“I sold my car because of the way Asinobi-Metu sold the services she would be offering to me,” Francis told FIJ.
“She made it seem real and this made me commit everything I had in my possession into the scheme. She made it look like nothing would ever go wrong.
“She might have refunded my money, but that was just the physical cost. As a matter of fact, her fraudulent scheme has affected my mental well-being. It has also brought about stagnation in my life.
“I sold all I had so I could come up with the fees she was asking for to render the services she promised.”
Francis also told FIJ about Asinobi-Metu’s “manipulative stories”.
“Asinobi-Metu went as far as manipulating people, making them believe she is the breadwinner of her family,” Francis said.
“She would also make us believe her marriage was in a crisis, and that she and her husband were not on good terms. She would say her husband constantly physically assaulted her.
“She manipulated victims to gain sympathy and warm herself into their hearts. She even told us her mother was battling cancer. We believe she stole over N200 million from her victims.”
Francis said when he and some other victims of Asinobi-Metu’s fraudulent scheme reached out to Infoplace Canada, a Canadian outfit that specialises in immigration and educational services, on the issue, they were told they did “not know her”.
“They also told us they had sent her a letter, telling her to stop going about making people believe they work together,” said Francis.
“Life is hard at the moment. Picking up what is left of it is even difficult. She claimed she is a Canadian immigration lawyer and consultant. We later checked the relevant website to know if she was a Canadian immigration agent but her name was not there.”
‘THE COUSIN WHO TOLD HIS COUSIN’
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“I was introduced to Asinobi-Metu by Nnamdi*, my cousin,” Nneoma David*, another victim of the immigration consultant’s fraudulent scheme, told FIJ.
“During the period, Nnamdi and his wife had already started the process and it sounded good. I keyed into it and eventually spoke to the woman (Asinobi-Metu) myself.
The Agreement David and Her Husband Signed With Asinobi-Metu.
“She then told me I would need to sit for IELTS, get my WES assessment and other things as part of the requirements needed. This happened in early 2023.
“So, I spoke to my husband about her service and he also spoke to her as well. When he knew Asinobi-Metu was from Stella, he felt comfortable because he knew she could be trusted. After my husband made the first payment of N17 million to her, she made arrangements for me to write the IELTS test.
Receipt Reflecting a N17 million Payment David Made to Asinobi-Metu
“By the end of 2023, my husband had paid N32 million to Adaku Asinobi-Metu for the migration plan.”
After Asinobi-Metu collected the sum in November 2023, David noticed she stopped responding to her messages.
Prior to that period, she had also introduced the immigration consultant to her other cousins as well.
“My other cousins I introduced to the immigration plan also paid money to Asinobi-Metu as well,” said David.
“Despite knowing Asinobi-Metu through Nnamdi, my cousin, I would still say I did not carry out enough due diligence before millions of naira were paid to her. So, my cousin introduced her to me, and I introduced her to my other cousins.
“By the time we realised that she was a fraudster, it had become too late. She even went as far as lying to us that her mum had cancer and that she was most times unable to pick calls because she was in the hospital and visitors were not allowed to make calls.
“When this went on and I did not hear from her, I decided to visit her home in Abuja to at least know where she stayed.”
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A ‘HOME’ OF MANY COURT ORDERS
David made a shocking discovery when she got to the estate she believed Asinobi-Metu resided in.
“By the time I got to the estate where she lived, I saw that many court orders and injunctions had been pasted on a notice board that was very close to the estate gate,” said David.
“Most of the court orders reflected how she had defrauded complainants in several other fraudulent business schemes that were not even travel or emigration-related.
“The security men I met at the estate gate then told me about how she had been using several deceitful means to defraud people. She would tell them about the wonderful services she can render, receive money from her victims and then end up not rendering the promised service to them.
“The men then told me she and her husband later moved out of the apartment and had relocated to Abia State.
“I was too shocked to take any immediate action when I found out. She also defrauded people under the guise of selling fabrics at Kado Market, Abuja, where she used to have a tailoring shop.”
David told FIJ that she subsequently reported the matter to the police.
“When I went to the Nigeria Police Force-National Cybercrime Centre (NPF-NCCC) Abuja to report, they made me understand that Asinobi-Metu was still within Nigeria. Her exact location, however, remains unknown,” David said.
“Her actions have really impacted me negatively. My husband felt I was careless about the whole thing. It left me in a very bad place. The incident destroyed all my plans. It is the worst thing a human being can do to a fellow human being.
“It even almost led to a family rift between my husband and my cousin who introduced her to me.”
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N22 MILLION NAIRA GONE — JUST LIKE THAT
Nnamdi Udeze*, David’s cousin who originally introduced her to Asinobi-Metu, also told FIJ how he met the immigration consultant.
“My wife and I met Adaku Asinobi-Metu through Stella in 2022 and also keyed into the travel plan she pitched at the time,” said Nnamdi.
“We also wanted to relocate to Canada and communicated mostly through emails and messages with Asinobi-Metu during the period. We ended up paying her N22 million and she acknowledged the receipt of the sum and even got us to sign an agreement with her.
“She told us we could migrate to Canada through the investment route and to that effect, she gave us a document to sign. Ultimately, it was signed by us, Asinobi-Metu and the supposed Canadian company we were supposed to be directors in. At first, she was responding to calls up until I introduced my cousin to her.
“Eventually, she stopped responding to me and my wife in April 2023. She went quiet for a long time in April 2023 and then responded to my message in August 2023. That was the last time she responded to my calls, emails and text messages.
“The travel plan was supposed to be for me, my wife and our two children.
“As of February 2024, my messages to her got delivered and she read it. After this, however, she blocked my line and I have not been able to reach her ever since.”
Rita*, Nnamdi’s wife, told FIJ she is afraid Asinobi-Metu might use the confidential information she has at her disposal to further scam other people.
“Apart from the huge sum we lost to Asinobi-Metu, we have our fears as well. Our fears include what fraudsters like her could use the information on our documents for, and where the information that is supposed to be confidential could travel to without us knowing,” Rita said.
“For all we know, Asinobi-Metu could further use our information to perpetrate additional scams that would be alien to us. We really hope the fraud she committed was just for the money and not one that would involve our confidential and personal information.
“She also put my integrity at stake. My cousin’s husband actually thought I colluded with Asinobi-Metu to defraud them of N32 million. She has left my integrity in a bad place. As it is now, I can’t even recommend a business prospect to my cousin again.”
N12.5M FROM NIGERIAN IN GERMANY, AND ANOTHER N15M
The Fake SINP Letter Asinobi-Metu Sent to Martins
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Ishaq Martins*, a Nigerian residing in Germany, also told FIJ how he fell victim to Asinobi-Metu’s fraudulent migration scheme.
“I knew Adaku (Asinobi-Metu) through Stella Okoye in 2022. Stella and my wife work in the same place back in Nigeria and we all also worship in the same church,” said Martins.
“At the time Stella introduced me to Adaku, I was made to understand that she could assist me with a Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Programme (SINP) package to Canada.
Transaction Receipts Showing the Over N8 million Martins Paid to Asinobi-Metu
“When I interacted at length with Adaku, she also confirmed it me that it was possible for me and my wife to get provincial nomination. She told me she would help me find a way to buy shares in a Canadian company.
“After a while, the Canadian company will send me an invite to Canada and all other things will now fall in place. She then said I would have to pay her N12.5 million for her services.
“After I had paid up to N8 million to her, I asked her for the next step and she told me I would sit for IELTS, do medicals and capture biometrics.
“After compelling her to have the exam arranged for me, she eventually did. Disappointingly, she has not given me the test certificate till today.
“We literally had to be on her neck at all times before she later told me and my wife to go for our medicals at IOM in Abuja and we did that.
“Towards the end of November 2023, she sent me an ITA (Invitation to Apply) but we never got called by the Canadian Embassy for any interview.
“In early 2024, I got a message from Stella that Francis*, her brother’s application did not work out. She also made me understand that it seemed Adaku was out to defraud people.
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“This then made me reach out to Adaku, asking her to return people’s money to them if it was no longer certain she could help.
“Interestingly, I had also introduced a friend to Adaku and he had also paid N15 million to her.
“At that point, she said I should give her two months and that she would make everything work. After that, she disappeared and no one heard from her again.”
$8,476, N5.5M FROM MYANMAR-BASED NIGERIAN
A Receipt Reflecting a £2,645 Transfer Albert Made to Asinobi-Metu
When Folashade Albert* first met Asinobi-Metu in 2020, the fraudster told her she could help her arrange for a Canadian Visit-Study-Work-PR travel option. She also told Albert that she would help her arrange for a PNP package in Saskatchewan, a province in western Canada.
“I ended up paying a total of $8,476 and N5.5 million to Adaku. After receiving the payment, she disappeared and no one heard from her again,” Albert told FIJ in an interview.
“Prior to this, she said she would arrange for a visit visa on my behalf and once I am in Canada, I get to study a short course that will not take me more than six months.
“While the course is ongoing I would consistently apply for jobs and attend career fairs.
“She added that once I graduated, I would stand a better chance of getting employed and then transition to getting a work permit after spending 16 months on a job. And after this, I would move on to securing permanent residency. It was all a lie. She had it all planned out right from the beginning.”
Albert also spoke about the way Asinobi-Metu convinced her clients to sign agreements with her.
“People are wary of their exposure. She claimed the contracts signed with her clients were confidential. With the way things have played out, however, I am not sure they are,” Albert said.
“She used the same template and pitched her fraudulent scheme the same way to defraud everyone. That’s how deceptive she was. Now, she is in the wind and nobody knows exactly where she is.”
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DENIED BY SUPPOSED EMPLOYERS
Asinobi-Metu transacted with her victims using the company names SAGES AND SCRIBES CONSULTING and ULTIMATE SAGES AND SCRIBES. She also used account numbers opened in the company’s name and the ones she opened with her name to collect funds from them.
At the moment, nobody knows Asinobi-Metu’s whereabouts. While some of the aggrieved clients suspect that she might be in Owerri, Imo State, others believe she is overseas.
CICC Site Showing Neither Asinobi-Metu Nor Her Company Were Duly Registered as Immigration Consultants
When FIJ visited College of Immigration and Citizenship Consultants (CICC), a Canadian regulatory body that licenses immigration and citizenship consultants to protect the public, Asinobi-Metu and Sages and Scribes Consulting were not listed there.
When FIJ also sent an email to Infoplace Canada, the Canadian Immigration Consulting firm Asinobi-Metu told her clients she worked for, Jacob Akpan, the company’s Director of Operations, issued the following response:
InfoPlace Canada’s Response on Asinobi-Metu.
MORE THAN N200M FRAUDULENTLY OBTAINED
Currently, Asinobi-Metu has collected well over N200 million from interested clients without rendering any service to them. For some of them, picking up what’s left of their lives after paying so much money has been difficult.
FIJ placed several phone calls to Adaku Asinobi-Metu for a reaction to her victims’ accusations of fraud on January 30, but they were not responded to. The email and text message subsequently sent to her had also not been responded to at press time.
The post ‘Canadian Immigration Consultant’ Adaku Asinobi-Metu Took Over N200m From Clients, Blocked Them, Then Vanished appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.