On Sunday, July 31, six men were arrested in Nigeria’s central state of Nasarawa after being caught extorting thousands of dollars from closeted gay men as part of an elaborate blackmail scheme. Police are asking any Nigerians who have been swindled by the scammers to come forward to help provide evidence of their alleged crimes.
The scam targeted eight men through a fake gay dating app, authorities explained. The six suspects are being accused of luring men on “dates,” arranging in-person meetings where they them beat their victims and steal from them. They are accused of holding the men hostage and forcing them to give up their ATM code so they could steal money from their accounts.