I spent two hours in Ekore-Oworonsoki where Hushpuppi lived. Here’s what former neighbors said about him
Before leaving Nigeria for the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in the year none of his former neighbours could ascertain, Ramon Olorunwa Abass aka Hushpuppi was a known figure in Olorunfunmi, Odo-Eran, Ekore neighbourhood in Oworonsoki, Kosofe local government area of Lagos.
He lived on Ogunyomi street (adjacent the Lagos-Ojo expressway) in Oworonsoki for many years and sources told Neusroom it was there he started his internet fraud enterprise.
Oworonsoki is partly a slum community on the edge of Lagos separated from the rich dominated Lagos Island by the 11km long third mainland bridge which stretches across the Lagos Lagoon. Close to Oworo is Gbagada, another community populated by lower and upper middle class residents.
Millions of young people, desperate for inspiration and role models, looked up to him. But many remained suspicious.
“I am you and you are me. I represent every underprivileged kid of the world and especially of Nigeria and of Lagos and of Bariga and of Oworonsoki…Now, you see I represent you?” He wrote in his ‘Letter to the Ghetto Kid’ in May 2017.
“I rose from the hood and decided to do the things my forefathers never did.” He was right, no one in his lineage has ever done what has set him up as one of the world’s most infamous fraudsters.
Defying the rain on Wednesday July 8, 2020, I took a trip to Ekore to see the Oworonsoki neighbourhood where the 37-year-old, likely to go down in history as one of Nigeria’s most successful con artists, started out.
The cab driver drove me through Otunba Bakare to the end of Olorunfunmi where I ended the trip, walked round before taking a motorcycle back to Odo-Eran, in the heart of Oworonsoki. You do not need to be told that it is a forgotten area, the sight is enough conviction that it is not on the government’s radar for development anytime soon. The residents of Odo-Eran live in squalor. Shanty homes are occupied by many scavengers with heaps of scraps packed in front of the buildings.
After touring the community for more than 30 minutes, I called my host, an old school mate, who lives on Olorunfunmi street, one of the ‘urban’ parts of Oworonsoki. We stood in front of the cyber cafe where Hushpuppi was said to have been a regular customer while living in the neighbourhood. The owner was too busy to talk to me.
After standing there for about one hour avoiding the rain, we were later joined by two other young men. And the Hushpuppi discussion started. One of the young men who touted himself as ‘number one information carrier’ in the area, agreed to take me to Ogunyomi street, but it would come at a cost, his price was N500. Without hesitating I agreed to pay. Others soon started making demands for their own pay as they agreed to lead me to Ogunyomi street. Navigating from the corridor of one house to another we found our way to Ogunyomi.
The house he lived in is a ‘face me I face you’ bungalow owned by the father of one of his friends and closest ally Sikiru Adekoya. I was told several stories of how he had nothing when he was living on Ogunyomi street, but they were surprised when they suddenly started seeing him displaying wealth on social media.
“I know him (Hushpuppi) very well, he used to send me bread and beans when he was living here,”
one of the young men who would not like his name mentioned told me. This source says he was born and bred on Ogunyomi street and Hushpuppi was like a brother figure to him for “more than 12 years”.
From my conversations with some of the youngmen in the neighbourhood, I became aware of the underlying issues some of them have with Hushpuppi. They are not too bothered about his arrest, and care less about Nigeria’s global image and the war on cyber fraud, which has continued to portray Nigerians as fraudsters in the international community.
The millions of dollars lost by millions of victims is not on the list of their concerns. For them it is about the accused’s ‘chop alone’ lifestyle. They claimed he did not help many of his guys in the house he lived in Oworonshoki.
“He is very stingy, he doesn’t wire money to his guys, but he can pay for their flight tickets to come visit him in Dubai, take them out and treat them to lavish nightclub life, but he doesn’t give money,”
Shola, one of the residents said.
The only person they claimed Hushpuppi ‘helped’ in the neighbourhood is Sikiru Adekoya who joined him in Dubai about two years ago. I was informed Sikiru’s wife and kid still live on Ogunyomi street but I won’t be allowed to see them because it is believed that Sikiru has also been arrested during the operation Fox Hunt 2 that led to the arrest of Hushpuppi and other members of his team in Dubai.
One of my sources gave me Sikiru’s Instagram handle (@officialpac02). When I checked, it shared similarities with Hushpuppi’s page. A novice may take the handle for Hushpuppi’s second IG page with the flagrant display of wealth, exotic cars and photos taken with Hushpuppi that littered the timeline. His last post was on May 31, 2020.
When I checked the photos of the 10 other suspects arrested alongside Hushpuppi, Sikiru’s image appeared conspicuously above Hushpuppi’s head. A confirmation that Sikiru is one of the ‘unknown’ suspects arrested by the police and may still be in Dubai prison. The Dubai Police is yet to respond to Neusroom’s email requesting information.
In some of the videos on Hushpuppi’s IG page, Sikiru is believed to be the voice behind the camera filming and hyping him. When Hushpuppi added a white Rolls Royce to his fleet of luxury cars early this year, Sikiru was the voice behind the camera filming the unveiling of the car.
If Hushpuppi is the King of Gucci, Sikiru has to be the Prince and heir apparent. He has all the features of Hushpuppi, albeit on a smaller scale. A somewhat mini version of Hushpuppi, you could call him Hushpuppi-lite. On his Instagram page with 19,000 followers, less than one percent of Hushpuppi’s over 2 million followers, are photos with stars like Romelu Lukaku and Nollywood actress Tonto Dikeh (one of his biggest fans, constantly liking his IG posts).
There are images from July 15, 2017, showing Sikiru and Tonto together in a car, and at a hotel lobby in Lagos. Could there be a link between Hushpuppi and Tonto and Sikiru was only a front man? In 2017, there were unconfirmed reports that the Nollywood actress was in a relationship with the suspected fraudster, a claim she denied. In his IG posts, Sikiru is always praising Hushpuppi for taking him out of poverty.
“If I gat him at my back @hushpuppi I gat the world at my back,” he wrote in an Instagram post where he shared his photo with Hushpuppi in March 2019.
Facing a possible 20 years sentence in the U.S, Hushpuppi’s fleet, wardrobe filled with Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Versace and many other luxury wears are of no use to him now. He will dress in the orange uniform worn by U.S inmates. The type adorned by Naira Marley (one of his many celebrity buddies) in the song ‘Soapy’.
In the video of his arrest that looked like an MNet action movie, Hushpuppi looked stunned as his hands were cuffed behind him. His arrest will not rid the world of the many aspiring ‘Hushpuppies’ who throng his IG page daily to declare their admiration for him and his ‘hustle’. There are still many who are inspired by Abass, Woodbery and Invictus Obi’s story and want to enjoy the ‘good life’ they enjoyed before the arms of the law eventually caught up with them. The war against cyber fraud appears to have no end. But the noose will continue to tighten as authorities across borders collaborate to bring criminals to book.
As I left my hosts in Oworonsoki, I thought of the lives of poor young Nigerians, their chances of escaping poverty, and the available routes for them. And I realized the government will have to provide better education, create more jobs, and aggressively sell the Nigerian dream – if it exists – to the over 80 million young boys and girls growing up now and trying to make up their minds who to become: Hushpuppi? Or Deskid Wayne, another suspected internet fraudster who displays wealth on social media? See it’s not likely you’ve heard the other name before. We need new role models. The ones we currently have? We need to celebrate them with every opportunity we have.
