Iniubong Umoren: Body of job seeker found as findings show suspected killer has records of defrauding internet users
The body of a job seeker, Iniubong Umoren, whose disappearance on Thursday, April 29, 2021, prompted a significant online search and rescue effort, has been found in Uyo, Akwa Ibom state.
The Akwa Ibom Police spokesperson Odiko Ogbeche-MacDon confirmed to Neusroom on Sunday that the suspect, Ezekiel Uduak Akpan, led police to the shallow grave where he buried Umoren after sexually assaulting her.
“He assaulted her sexually and physically and after he had confessed, he was able to take us to the shallow grave where he buried her,” MacDon said.
He, however, said he could not confirm if other bodies were found in the grave as being widely reported on the internet.
The report of Umoren’s death has sparked an outrage on the internet with many calling for the arrest of other accomplices and a public trial of the suspects.
How it started
A Twitter user, Umoh Uduak, who claimed to be Umoren’s friend, sent out a tweet on Thursday calling for help for her friend whom she said had gone missing.
Tweeting with the handle, @UmohUduak, she wrote: “Y’all my friend @HinyHumoren is in trouble and she needs our help. I’m currently in Lagos and I can’t help than to put this out there. Earlier today, she told me she was going for a job interview at airport road which is quite far from her house.”
She added that Umoren sent her a one-second voice note on WhatsApp which suggests she was in danger.
“I had to call her back to know if she wanted to say something to me but immediately I called her. I heard her screaming. Someone, please help her out,” she tweeted.
Uduak shared screenshots of their conversations before Umoren’s phone line became unreachable.
The search for Umoren
Many Nigerian social media users joined in the search for Umoren from Thursday until her body was found on Sunday. Many volunteers were using different technological tools to track her last location using her phone number as well as the location of the man who reportedly invited her for a job interview.
Umoren, an orphan, according to her friends, shared Akpan’s phone number with her sister before going for the interview.
On Tuesday, April 27, 2021, Umoren, a graduate of the University of Uyo, had shared a tweet to seek a job and got multiple responses from users who indicated plans to help her.
She wrote: “#AkwaIbomTwitter please I’m really in need of a job, something to do to keep mind and soul together while contributing dutifully to the organisation. My location is Uyo, I’m creative, really good at thinking critically, and most importantly a fast learner. CV available on request.”
Investigations revealed that Umoren was offered a job by Ezekiel Akpan who also invited her to his place for an interview, but the suspect shared a post on his Facebook page on Friday claiming he never met the missing lady, despite multiple evidence confirming that she went to see him.
Criminals using unemployment crisis to lure job seekers
Nigeria’s unemployment rate is on a steady surge. In March 2021, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said unemployment rose from 27.1% in the second quarter of 2020 to 33.3% in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Many young Nigerians have been forced to become entrepreneurs and online vendors as there are no jobs available for the millions of unemployed, while other job seekers are constantly on the internet searching for employment opportunities.
Unfortunately, criminals have been exploring the unemployment crisis to exploit unsuspecting job seekers with fake job offers as a way to scam them, lure them to secluded locations to sexually assault them, kidnap them for ransom or sell their body parts to ritualists.
Umoren is one of the victims but there are many others who were never reported.
Since the report of her death went viral on the internet, many Nigerians have been sharing their tales with scammers posing as employers.
According to several social media posts examined by Neusroom from 2020, Akpan has a record of defrauding people on the internet. Many social media users claim Umoren was not his first victim.
In December 2020, a Pakistani, Ahmed Zubair Ismail, shared a post in a Facebook group ‘globe pay IMP IGP SENDERS/RECEIVERS’ accusing Akpan of scamming him of $1 million he transferred to him for a business.
Ismail wrote: “Uduak Frank Akpan, this guy scammed me saying that I’m [a] receiver of ‘international global pay’ and give you payout in 20 minutes after I sent him $1 million he didn’t reply me. Today he replied to me and said ‘international global pay is Fake’. I said then refund the amount in my account he didn’t do it. So please guys be aware of him he is a *Scammer*” (sic)
Neusroom reached out to Ismail for comments on the allegation against Akpan but he refused to comment, saying all Nigerians are scammers.
“Every single Nigerian is a scammer, you people scam,” he said in an audio message sent to Neusroom. “Can you provide me guarantee that you will pay me then I’ll provide you details, otherwise no.”
A Facebook user Bee Moses also claimed that Akpan once invited her for a job interview but the suspect verbally insulted her on the phone for refusing to turn up for the ‘interview’.
“I once met the guy when he promised to get me a job at FHI360 and asked me to come along Airport Road, I felt reluctant, he abused me so badly for not coming and that’s how I deleted his contacts,” she wrote on Facebook.
Akpan has deactivated his social media accounts apparently in an attempt to clear off his online footprints.
Police said they are still interrogating him to determine if there are other accomplices while Umoren’s body has been deposited at the University of Uyo Teaching Hospital for autopsy.
