There is a popular adage that says, “One day, bush meat go catch the hunter,” and that day may yet come for Nigerian socialite Nzube Henry Ikeji and his cohorts.
An investigation by the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) has uncovered how Henry allegedly posed as the Crown Prince of Dubai to defraud a Romanian woman of more than $2.5 million in a long-running romance scam.
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How the Alleged Scam Began
According to OCCRP, Henry reached out to a Romania-based businesswoman, identified only as Laura, on LinkedIn about three years ago.
He impersonated Sheikh Hamdan Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the real Crown Prince of Dubai, and claimed he wanted to invest in humanitarian projects in Romania.
He asked Laura to advise him on credible Romanian humanitarian foundations that needed funding and financial support.
What began as a professional exchange gradually turned romantic after months of constant communication.
Henry later proposed marriage and convinced Laura that she needed to pay certain “customary” and financial fees connected to their engagement.
He then instructed Laura to travel to London to meet his financial manager, Matthew Cros, to discuss funding for the supposed humanitarian projects and the opening of a Barclays account in her name.
Investigators later identified the so-called financial manager as Dr. Martins Abhulimhen, a 60-year-old Nigerian socialite, philanthropist, and founder of the Jose Foundation, who falsely claimed to manage the finances of the Emirati royal family.
Dr. Abhulimhen’s social media presence features numerous photographs with prominent figures, including the late President Muhammadu Buhari, former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and a London mayor.
Laura travelled to London and met him several times. Unknown to him, she brought a friend along, who secretly took photographs of their meetings.
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The Fake Account and Mounting Payments
The scammers later gave Laura login details to an online account that appeared to show a deposit of about £202 million in her name. Investigators later confirmed that the account was fake and held no real funds.
To access the money, they asked her to pay £7,000 in “processing fees.” Having already sent large sums to the fake prince over time, Laura paid without suspicion.
Each attempt to withdraw the funds triggered new charges. By the time she realised something was wrong, Laura had transferred about $2.5 million.
Cracks Within the Syndicate
As the scam dragged on, disagreements reportedly erupted among the conspirators over how to share the money.
Unexpectedly, a man named James Patrick Normoyle, who claimed to be a financial adviser, contacted Laura and warned her to stop sending money.
He told her plainly that the scammers had defrauded her of more than €3 million and that the documents she received, including the so-called “pre-marital visitation acknowledgement form,” were fake.
Soon after, Mr. Abhulimhen also reached out to Laura and claimed the impersonator had deceived her using “African black magic.”
He admitted that the multimillion-pound account was false, describing it as “a lie from the pit of hell.”
Victim Confronts the Fake Prince
Laura confronted Henry, whom she believed was Sheikh Hamdan, and he dismissed her concerns, accusing his financial manager of trying to ruin their relationship, but when she demanded a refund, he refused.
Feeling betrayed by Henry’s greed, one of the co-conspirators eventually revealed his true identity to Laura, naming Nzube Henry Ikeji as the man behind the fake Dubai prince persona.
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Investigators got to work and fortunately for them, his wife, Confidence Amara Ikeji posted images of their mansions online, thanking God for blessing the family with “another mansion in another city,” and this helped OCCRP journalists track him down.
They also traced him through his digital footprint and social media posts.
His Instagram page showed a luxury lifestyle, including foreign holidays, business-class flights, designer shopping trips, and expensive cars such as a Lexus 570 and a 2020 Range Rover Vogue.
He also owned luxury watches and earned the nickname “Excess Money” among friends whilst holding traditional titles like Sarkin Gabas Matasan of Nasarawa and Ojichukwu Ndi Igbo na South East, awarded in 2024.
Like Mr. Abhulimhen, Henry also runs a humanitarian foundation that distributes food items to the less privileged.
Law Enforcement Action So Far
When OCCRP journalists confronted Henry at his Abuja residence, he denied impersonating the Dubai Crown Prince or scamming Laura.
He admitted knowing Mr. Abhulimhen but avoided questions about money transfers that were traced to his Nigerian Zenith account, insisting that further inquiries be directed to his lawyers.
He later claimed that funds received from Mr. Abhulimhen were donations to his foundation, not proceeds of fraud.
British police identified Mr. Abhulimhen as a key liaison who received money from Laura in the UK and transferred it to Nigeria. His accounts were frozen, and a UK court seized £113,000 from his account, which will be returned to Laura.
Mr. Abhulimhen has resigned as president of the Jose Foundation and has not responded to OCCRP’s questions. The Nigerian government has confirmed it is investigating the case. As of now, neither Henry nor Mr. Abhulimhen has been formally charged.
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