Story of Ade Bendel, Nigeria’s Most Notorious Fraudster- Part 1
Undoubtedly, one of the most well-known con artists in Nigeria is Ade Bendel. He embezzled N500 million from General Abba Kyari, a retired military brigadier general and the former governor of the former North-Central State. Additionally, it is stated that Ade Bendel defrauded well-known Muslim cleric Sheikh Abdul-Jabar Balogun of N70 million and fifteen cars after pledging to assist him in purchasing a ship. In 2003, he robbed Egyptian General Abdel Azim Attia of nearly $500,000, along with numerous other notable persons that we will discuss in this History. This is the tale of the one man whose daring actions in that shadowy world of advance fee frauds and scams rocked—and still kind of rocked—Nigerian society. Let me make it very clear before I go any further: he was not the only person involved in this chaotic trade or other highly contentious industries like drug smuggling. “Judge” Fred Ajudua, Dele Ilori, Oloruntoyin Akindele Ikumoluyi aka Akindele Ile Eru, Ikechukwu Anajemba aka Rasheed Gomwalk, Amaka “The Queen” Anajemba, Emmanuel Nwude-Odenigwe (aka Owelle of Abanga), Femi Abiodun Lekuti aka Danku Baba Imole, Lanre Shittu, Sanjay Oloruntoyin, Kenneth and Princess Hamabon William were some of the people who completely destroyed the image of the most populous black nation in the world by painting the Blue Planet red with their kleptomaniac tendencies. Adedeji Alumile, sometimes known as Adedemiluyi Elumalu, was born in Ibadan, Oyo State, in 1966 (some sources date this to 1964), His hometown is Hiveevie, a quaint little village in Edo State’s Owan Local Government Area. He was enrolled in school, but for unclear reasons, he left the primary school and eventually moved to Lagos State in pursuit of a “greener pasture.” Ade Bendel’s acquaintances claimed that when he was younger, he always had the hope of becoming wealthy one day. Ade Bendel’s exact entry point into the fraud world is unclear, but by 1992, he was at the top of the game, hanging out with people like Toyin Igbira, Tulamania, and Eko Round City. Ade Bendel was the undisputed leader by 1994, and he continued to amass wealth even as other con artists and drug lords were gradually going bankrupt. Because of his lucrative endeavors, he became well-known by 1995, drawing the attention of the Sani Abacha administration. The Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), then headed by General Musa Bamaiyi, would subsequently imprison him multiple times.…