Iriodalo Emmanuel Obhafuoso (Odalo) has been accused of cajoling women into sending him money by claiming a deadly illness
On a Sunday last year April, Elsa fell for the oldest wooing trick in the game of romance. Sometimes, when a man wants to strike up a conversation with a woman, he pretends to know her from somewhere. Depending on her mood and response, he continues with his frolic.
“After confirming I wasn’t the person he knew, he said, since I am here, let’s continue the conversation. So, we spoke for about a week before he said he had something to tell me. But before he brought it up, we have been talking every day,” she said.Elsa and Odalo developed a friendship similar to a relationship between April and July of 2022. They talked a lot through consistent voice and video calls. However, because Odalo claimed to reside in Benin, she could not meet him in person.
He further claimed that he had most of the money and needed N200,000 as balance – a manipulative strategy skilled scammers use to make victims feel at ease by acting like they have money and only need a little help.Some screenshots of Odalo’s message to ElsaThe moment Odalo sent his account details was the beginning of Elsa’s spending in a bid to get him healthy.
After the revelation, Elsa said she waited for Odalo to confess his fraudulent nature to her, but he never did. Suspecting he may never be honest, she confronted him. Days after the confrontation, in a message that appeared to be emotionally blackmailing, Odalo apologised for hurting her and lying to her to acquire money. He reassured her of his love and promised to be a better person.
His strategies, when dealing with the women, appear identical. After forming a relationship, he sends a charming message, then claims he has a heart disease or any similar deadly illness. Odalo’s modus operandi transcends Twitter; he also shared his alleged illness with his contacts on WhatsApp.“I have a story with this guy too. It’s sad mehn. I have known him for a long while as an artist & a friend. I’ll post my last chats I had with him. I sent him money too out of pity,” Gloria said.
A screenshot of the forensic analysis of Odalo’s alleged echocardiography report carried out on 13 October In the recent past, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has also prosecuted romance scammers based on this act. Some cases can be foundAmidst the mask and lies, who is Odalo?