A 31-year-old Nigerian national, Paul Efeturi Niboro alias Paul Kwame Niboro has been remanded into prison custody by the High Court.
This comes after he uploaded sexually explicit videos of a Jehovah’s Witness lady he had lured into a romantic relationship on a pornographic website.
The accused arraigned for 10 counts have pleaded not guilty to all which comprised of three counts of defrauding by pretense, a count of Publication of obscene material, forgery, non-consensual sharing of intimate images, receipt of a public officer, and three counts of sexual extortion.
The victim, a 40-year-old lady is said to be an African-American.
Lawyers of the accused led by Baba Jamal had prayed the Court to admit him to bail on grounds that he is not a flight risk and ready to avail himself to face justice.
The request was, however, opposed by State Prosecutors led by Richard Gymbiby, a Principal State Attorney.
The court presided over by Justice Lydia Osei Marfo has since directed the Prosecution to file their necessary disclosure documents before the next sitting.
The case has been adjourned to May 16 for further orders.
Brief facts
The brief facts of the case as presented by Richard Gymbiby, a Principal State Attorney, (PSA), stated that the accused on different occasions claimed to be unemployed or worked as a timber merchant.
He said, that on August 28, 2023, the complainant joined an online dating website called ‘JWMatch,’ which is intended for proponents of the Jehovah’s Witness (JW) faith.
The PSA added that to ensure that only JWs were on the ‘JWMatch,’ persons desiring to join the group mandatorily answered key questions about the Jehovah’s Witness faith to be admitted unto the JWMatch.
Search for a romantic wife
Mr Gymbiby told the Court that, the accused seeking to find a victim to defraud also joined the JWMatch website with the name Paul Linux and claimed to profess the Jehovah’s Witness faith.
The PSA explained that the Accused falsely stated on his JWMatch profile that he had been a Jehovah’s Witness for about 6 to 10 years and indicated his residential address as Victoria, British Columbia Canada.
He stated that the accused despite having two Ghanaian baby mamas and a Canadian wife, had told the complainant that he needed a partner, “a wife that’s full of romance, love, and intimacy.”
The PSA said, that on September 16, 2023, the accused contacted the complainant on the ‘JWMatch’ website and proposed a romantic relationship with her after a series of chats.
Cyber Security Analyst
He told the Court that, the accused informed the complainant that he worked with IBM as a Cyber Security Analyst in Canada.
He added that, when the complainant expressed doubts, the accused indicated that he has permanent residence in Canada and “sent IBM pay slip showing a net salary of $3,616.04 CAD, as proof of his employment with IBM.”
The PSA said, that in the course of the relationship, their chats moved from the ‘JWMatch website’ to the WhatsApp platform where the accused used a Canadian telephone number +143879592889.
Sick mother
He told the Court that, one day, out of the blue, the accused informed the complainant that he was in Nigeria as he suddenly had to fly out of Canada to Nigeria to attend to his “sick mother who needed kidney surgery.”
The PSA said, the accused later informed the complainant that he had to change the Canadian telephone line in order to avoid being charged telephone bills on his Canadian telephone number.
This according to the Prosecution, was “ostensibly to deceive the complainant into thinking that he was resident in Canada when he was all the while living at Techiman.”
Sexual encounter
“He therefore provided the complainant with a new number on which they could be communicating,” the PSA told the Court.
“They thus chatted often and, on some occasions, engaged in sexual encounters over the phone (also known as cybersex),” he added.
The PSA again told the Court that, on October 13, about a month after, “the accused engaged the complainant on the ‘JWMatch website,’ and he informed the complainant that he was stranded because he had run out of money.”
He told the Court that, the complainant suggested to the accused to secure a loan from his bankers in Canada.
“However the accused person indicated that because he was currently out of Canada, he would not be able to secure a loan,” the PSA told the Court.
Online Business meetings
It was the case of the Prosecution that, on October 24, 2023, “the accused person represented to the complainant that he had an online business meeting with his colleagues at his workplace in Canada.”
And that, he “needed internet data which he could not purchase himself as he had expended all his money on his sick mother.”
The PSA stated that “compelled by this representation, the complainant sent him $75 via Skill money transfer for the data and groceries which the accused person received via mobile money number 0540890276.”
The Prosecution said, about 18 days after the transfer, “the accused again falsely represented to the complainant that he used his car as collateral to secure a loan to cover for the rest of the cost incurred during his mother’s treatment which he has repaid leaving an outstanding balance of $320.”
“The accused person expressed fears of losing the vehicle if the loan was not repaid and used that as a pretext to request a loan of $320 from the complainant to reclaim his car from the lender.
“Based on this, the complainant further parted with $320 to the accused via Skill money transfer on 12th November 2023, which the accused person acknowledged on WhatsApp chats,” the PSA told the Court.
Another false story
Richard Gymbiby also told the Court that on November 18, 2023, “just a week after the receipt of the $320, the accused person once again came up with another story of having been involved in an accident in Nigeria on 17th November 2023 when he went for a walk.”
The PSA said, the accused “claimed that the accident left him with a broken arm and “smashed” head.”
“To convince the complainant, he sent her a video of his head and arm in a bandage and purportedly soiled with blood.
“He further claimed that he had been referred for MRI and DEXA scans which he was going to do in Ghana where the tests cost $680,” the PSA told the Court.
Recording of sex video
The PSA also said, that later the same day, the accused requested a loan from the complainant on the pretext that he had run out of money and would die if the complainant refused him the loan.
“The complainant who did not believe his story refused to lend him the money whereupon the accused person threatened to expose her.
“Unknown to the complainant, the accused person had recorded their previous cyber-sex encounters over the phone which he threatened to expose to her friends and to her Jehovah Witness Congregation.
“The complainant was devastated to learn that the accused person had recorded their cybersex sessions without her knowledge.
“He also threatened to publish the videos in New York Times Square, stream the video and upload it to every site and further pay bloggers to spread it more if she did not give him the loan,” the Prosecution told the Court.
“To prove that he truly had the videos, the accused person sent a sexually explicit photograph of the complainant which he culled from the videos.
“The complainant, who still felt threatened and ashamed pleaded with the accused person not to publish the video to the public and on pornographic sites but the accused person demanded payment for the purported scans in order to stop the publication,” the PSA told the Court.
Extortion
The Prosecution told the Court that out of fear, the complainant agreed to pay the sum of $700.
“After unsuccessful attempts by the complainant to send the money via Skill money transfer, the accused person pestered the complainant with calls and messages until she sent the $700 via remit money transfer to the accused person’s Momo number 0540890276 on 20th November 2023.
“The accused person received the money in three tranches (GH¢119.80, GH64,600.00 GH&3,335.00) and acknowledged receipt.
“The next day, 21st November 2023, he informed the complainant that he was in Ghana for the scan.
“However, the persistent requests for money led the complainant to feel defrauded and she decided to end the relationship between them,” he told the Court.
Pornographic sites
The PSA told the Court when she informed the accused, who said he would not allow her to end the relationship, “he replied that he would post all the videos on a pornographic site for streaming to the public.”
He said, later on, “the accused person introduced another story in which he claimed that a colleague from his office at IBM whom he had exposed for selling client information had hacked into his phone and taken all the sexually explicit videos of her.”
“He represented that this colleague was demanding payment in the sum of $5000 to return the videos and added that he had paid $2,900 leaving an outstanding balance of $2100.
“He then requested the balance from the complainant in order to stop the publication of the videos,” the Prosecution told the Court.
“The complainant refused to send further monies and subsequently blocked the accused person’s number on WhatsApp and all social media platforms,” he told the Court.
Negotiations
The Prosecution told the Court again that, as a result, “the accused person resorted to email where he sent evidence of sexually explicit videos he had posted on pornographic websites, and also sent to her friends on Facebook with a threat to further distribute to more than 700 persons and the complainant’s 16-year-old daughter if she did not the pay the money.”
“In order to immediately pull down the sexually explicit videos, the complainant negotiated with the accused person to pay $200 with a $100 to be paid immediately. She thus immediately sent $100 via Remitly to the same momo number,” he stated.
He said, on December 8, 2023, the complainant who could no longer contain the threats of the accused person engaged a private investigator who contacted the Cyber Security Authority and the Ghana Police Service.
Arrest
He said, investigations into the case thus commenced and in the course of investigations, “the accused person persisted with threats to broadcast the sexually explicit videos if the money was not paid.”
“Consequently, the complainant requested his banking details and transferred $50 into a GT Bank account provided by the accused person on December 18, 2023.
“When the accused person presented himself at the bank to cash the money, he was arrested by the police on December 22, 2023, he stated.
Forged pay-slip
According to him, investigations disclosed that the accused has been living in Ghana for the past 10 years and had not traveled to Canada or Nigeria since September 2023 when he was chatting with the complainant.
“The accused was not an employee of IBM and that the pay slip he sent to the complainant was forged.
“It was also discovered that the phone number 0540890276 used by the accused to receive the transfers from the complainant had the name of Helen Amponsah,” he told the Court.
“However, the mobile money is registered in the wallet of the phone number is registered in the name of the accused person.
Discoveries
“Investigations further disclosed a surgical gauze with red color stains which confirmed the accused person’s false representation he made to the complainant when he claimed he was involved in an accident,” the Court was told.
He said a search in the house of the accused discovered a Nigerian passport with the number A12502731 bearing the name of the accused, Paul Efeturi Niboro.
Bank records of the accused person disclosed that he used a National Health Insurance card bearing the name Paul Kwame Niboro to open his GT Bank account and represented that he was a Ghanaian born in Kumasi while his passport stated that he was a Nigerian born in Warri.
An electronic search of the accused person’s phone revealed an IBM pay slip in the name of Mike Moore and other IBM materials that the accused person altered to bear his name and sent to the complainant to convince her that he worked with IBM Canada.
The search also revealed the pictures and videos of the Black Mazda Demo salon he used to convince the complainant to part with $320.
“Investigations also discovered the sexually explicit videos and pictures of the complainant on the accused person’s phone; these are the videos and photographs he used to extort money from the complainant.
“The accused person also had a recording of himself posting this sexually explicit content on two pornographic websites which were traced by investigators to the websites and verified as having been posted by the accused persons which had garnered significant public views.
“Investigations also discovered the screenshots showing friends of the complainant to whom the accused person had sent sexually explicit videos of the complainant confirming the statement of the complainant that the accused person had sent the sexually explicit photographs to her friends,” he stated.
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