‘The Hushpuppi We Know’ – Neighbours, Friends, Fans Share Intimate Details

Since the arrest of Ramon Olorunwa Abass aka Hushpuppi on June 10, 2020 by Dubai Police on charges of global internet fraud, few among the many people who have links with him have been talking about his life and how he lived in affluence.

He courted global attention to himself with his display of wealth on social media which raised suspicions among many curious internet users and intelligence agencies. For many of his 2.4 million Instagram followers, his arrest didn’t come as a surprise, they’ve always suspected his wealth.

“Even in the house where he lived, those who they lived together are still there. How can you claim to be a billionaire and not help your guys?” he wondered. “I like him, and I want him freed but he has displayed too much wealth on the internet,” says Jamiu (not real name) who sees Hushpuppi as a hero and does not believe he has committed an unprecedented crime.

“There is no Yahoo Boy as rich as Hushpuppi,” he boasted. A Ghanaian hairdresser, Antoinette aka Atswei the Hairdresser wrote on Twitter: “Hushpuppi flew a barber from UK to come cut his hair. He owned a $1m watch. He had Versace redesign his hotel suite from ceiling to floor. He made so much money that he could’ve stopped but he didn’t. Money is a drug but tell me this isn’t greed and stupidity.”

Convener of Concerned Nigerians, Deji Adeyanju, who had an online faceoff with Hushpuppi in 2018 after accusing him of being a fraudster also said in a tweet in 2019 that the alleged fraudster told him on phone that he is not into fraud. “A close friend called me yesterday and Hush Puppy was on the other end of the phone,” Deji tweeted. “We had a conference call for over 30 mins talking. I listened to him narrate his life story to me. Told him I hate fraud of any kind and he said over and over again he is not into fraud.”

One of Hushpuppi’s many fans with the handle @Klever_jay_Ikell also took to his Instagram page to declare him as a genius and said he will be putting up Hushpuppi’s frame in his home.
@Klever_jay_Ikell in his post wrote: “You are not just a genius, you sacrificed yourself for generations to come in your family.

“Your sister died in LUTH because of N3,500 hospital bills (Typhoid and Malaria) you stood and cleared poverty in your family. Who am I to judge you. Who has seen poverty will understand and thirst for your wealth. You are not Pablo, but you are Ray Hushpuppy, I will tell my kids about you. I’m getting your frame in my abode.”

Popular OAP Ifedayo Olarinde aka Daddy Freeze, who came under criticism for promoting Hushpuppi in a documentary on his YouTube page, has also said he did not know he was into fraud.

“I didn’t know him to be a criminal, if I did I wouldn’t hang out with him,” he said in his defense amid intense internet trolling. “And unless someone is proven guilty, I do not discriminate against them because the one who taught me Christianity, the one who I follow, Christ did not discriminate against anyone.”

Meanwhile, his lawyer, Gal Pissetzky, has claimed he is a “legitimate business” as an “entrepreneur” who made his money promoting brands on his Instagram page.

Despite the overwhelming charges of fraud filed against Hushpuppi by the United States Department of Justice, the Chicago lawyer told Forbes that “He has real estate involvement … [he’s] an Instagram personality. He was promoting brands and that’s how he was very legitimately making his money.”