Otu said he was devastated to find out later that Kuyice was involved in money laundering.
A Nigerian man who identified himself as Joshua Akpenwogene Otu has cried out that one Kuyice Gabriel Ovigorayi wants to kill him because he reported a money laundering case against him to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a video message sent to SaharaReporters, Otu said he had been hiding for two months. He called on the Bayelsa State Governor, Senator Douye Diri, Commissioner of Police, Bayelsa State Command, Alonyenu Francis Idu, Inspector General of Police IGP Kayode Egbetokun and EFCC Chairman, Olanipekun Olukoyede to come for his aid so that he will not die.
Otu, who lives in Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital, said his trouble started when Kuyice Ovigorayi, whom he said he met during the Covid-19 lockdown, paid N2 million into his bank account a few months.
According to him, he did not know that the money was the proceeds of a crime. He alleged that Kuyice had defrauded a lady but he was not aware of the fraud.
The payment led to the blocking of his Opay account, he said.
He explained that through enquiry, Opay told him that the sender of the money had engaged in some fraudulent activities and paid the money into his account. Otu added that Kuyice confessed to the fraud when he told him his Opay account had been blocked.
Otu said he threatened to report the fraud to the EFCC but that two days later, two armed men were sent to his house to kill him.
He said he managed to escape and had been in hiding since.
Narrating his ordeal, Otu said, "My name is Joshua Akpenwogene Otu. I am doing this video today because I don't know what might come tomorrow. I am not afraid of death but I am afraid that when I die the truth might not be unveiled like the case of MohBad.
“I am just a victim of circumstances going through this suffering. I want the world to know that my soul will not rest if the truth is not unveiled but I believe that evil is powerless when good men are not afraid to speak out the truth.
"If it takes me to die for this truth, so be it, I die. This is exactly two months since I left my home because of the information I got. My life is in danger and I am trying to reach out to everybody I think might share my story. I call on the Bayelsa State Governor, His Excellency Senator Douye Diri. I call on the Commissioner of Police in Bayelsa State, Alonyenu Francis Idu, IGP and EFCC Chairman. I also call on Mr President, the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria to come to my rescue. My life is in danger because of information I got about the money laundering case going on in Bayelsa State.
"About two years ago one Mr Kuyice Gabriel Ovigorayi came to me that he needed to get a land. I met Kuyice Ovigorayi during the COVID-19 lockdown. We used to play football together at Kontiki Amusement Park and Resort, Yenagoa. He told me he needed land and that I should scout for land. I and one other person later got a land for him.
“After payment, he left Yenagoa and relocated to Port Harcourt. About a year later, I reached out to him and begged if he could allow me to stay with him for some time because I was doing a programme at the Maritime Academy. He agreed, so two months ago he came to Bayelsa and told me that he would relocate abroad from Port Harcourt and I congratulated him.
“I told him that he shouldn't forget his guy (me), not knowing that he is into fraudulent activities.
"He told me not to worry, that he was going to help me. So, after about two weeks, he told me that he was travelling out and that I should come to his house in Port Harcourt to pick my things. We were like brothers. One day, he called and asked me if I had a Palmpay or Opay account. I said I had an Opay account. He requested for the account number and he sent me N2 million. I thanked him, I told him that I could start business with this."
Otu said he was devastated to find out later that Kuyice was involved in money laundering.
He continued, "So, I came to Warri thinking of starting a business. A week later, I was trying to make a transaction but it wasn't going through. I saw a message from Opay that my account had been restricted because one abnormal transaction was carried out on it. They said that the sender of the money committed fraud and that I could appeal to have the restriction lifted from the account. So I appealed, but it was rejected. I called Opay and they told me that Kuyice Ovigorayi was involved in a fraudulent act and that was the reason why my account was restricted.
"I quickly reached out to him but he didn't respond, not until I saw a message he sent on WhatsApp. Immediately I saw the message, I screenshot it. I called the number but it did not connect so I called him on WhatsApp, and asked him what was going on. I said, ‘Don't put me on the dark.’ He now said that his girlfriend, one Gift (I don't know her surname), that she was moving with one paddy and the paddy had been using her account for money laundering. He said that money goes in and comes out of the account."
He added, "Gift happened to show him the account so he removed the money from the account and sent to me, and that was the major reason my account was restricted. I told him immediately that I would report him to the EFCC with the screenshot of what he posted on WhatsApp before deleting it. It shows Gift’s account, where the money was removed. I told him immediately that I will report him to the EFCC with the evidence. I sent a mail to the EFCC but there was no response.
"Two days after I sent the mail, some men came to attack me and I managed to escape. I have left my home for two months now and I don't know what is going on. These two men came to attack me but because of God’s intervention, I managed to escape.
"I don't want to die I want this matter to be investigated. My life is in danger. I don't want to die like MohBad. I want the truth to prevail, I want justice to be served."
Efforts made to reach Kuyice on his mobile phone failed as the line was not available.
When SaharaReporters contacted the spokesman for the Bayelsa State Police Command, Musa Mohammed, he said the command was not aware of the incident.
"I advise that this person should contact me and we will take it from there," he said.
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