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. He frequently visited the NDLEA office in Ikoyi, where he candidly stated that he was a “deals man” rather than a drug user.
He left for Ivory Coast (Cote d’Ivoire) when he could take no more of the heat under Abacha, only to return later to spend some time relaxing in Ibadan. He was always on the move.
He acquired a mansion in Ibadan and wanted a street named after him. He went ahead and did just that, but the owner vehemently objected, allegedly even after Ade Bendel made him an offer of a million naira. He moved to his regular base of Lagos after leading what was referred to as a self-imposed exile in Ibadan, where everything continued as usual. But he didn’t have to wait long to get into problems once more. After a victim’s petition, the Federal Criminal Investigations Bureau (FCIB) in Alagbon, Ikoyi, Lagos, arrested him in 1997. Nevertheless, he was able to elude capture, resume his operation, and even realize remarkable profits.
His gains were so great that he moved into a twin duplex in Victoria Garden City, replacing his house on Talabi Street, which is off Adeniyi Jones Avenue. Without hesitation, he paid N25 million for the new structure. Then he converted his old house into a guest house. He then bought two more homes on Victoria Island, which he intended to use as his “consultancy offices.”
Nigerian musicians and performers extolled Ade Bendel to the highest skies during the height of his evil career. Those songs were so beautiful that the angels in heaven must have been a little envious. One of the people who nearly lost his voice while straining to thank Ade Bendel and his cronies for some cash was King Wasiu Ayinde Marshal, the talazocrooner.
Well, Ayinde Omo Anifowoshe was simply going about his business but it’s simple for any bandit to become a saint in a nation where nobody thinks to ask questions. Ade Bendel conned both domestically and abroad.
Abba Kyari, a retired brigadier general of the Nigerian Army and the previous governor of the former North-Central State in 1999—not the more recent Abba Kyari—was among the people he “washed” and “dried” back at home. Ade Bendel conned this credulous general out of an unbelievable sum as of the 1990s: N500 million naira. Ade Bendel went up to the naive Kyari and told him about a fantastic business opportunity that would generate billions of earnings in the near future—but only if he invested.
Kyari also succumbed to the proposition, giving over half a billion naira and sitting comfortably in his residence, waiting for the promised profits. It was too late by the time he understood he’d been duped properly. Ade Bendel was already rejoicing over his most recent haul everywhere in the town. He completely destroyed the host during a naming ceremony at one of his friends’ homes in Iyana Ipaja, Lagos State, by wildly throwing money at the crowd.
Ultimately, it was essentially free money, and since a sucker is born every minute, the magas will always make money. Swindlers and fraudsters will always exist as long as there are avaricious mugus and thoughtless magas. A bewildered Kyari was unable to cry out in shame that the entire country would be celebrating such legendary ignorance and avarice. The former military governor chose to keep the incident to himself because he lacked the guts to call the police and make a report. He disclosed his injuries in secret, but later on, something occurred that caused the bubble to pop.
One of the former governor’s buddies was unable to stand by and watch as Kyari spiraled into despair. He immediately went to the Nigerian Police Force’s Special Fraud Unit and submitted a report on Kyari’s behalf. N500 million naira, hmm. In any case, following the filing of the report, Ade Bendel was the target of a manhunt by the Nigerian Police, who eventually apprehended, questioned, and detained him in connection with the Kyari case. But a few days later, as usual, he was freed. He was that connected, yes.
Following his release, he traveled to the Netherlands, where he lived for a few weeks before returning to Nigeria, where he continued to do business while maintaining a somewhat low profile for a while.
However, Kyari wasn’t the only person Ade Bendel stung. Sheikh Abdul-Jabar Balogun was a man (you will immediately remember Abdujabaru if you listen to Lanrewaju Adepoju’s audio). Regardless, Sheikh Abdul-Jabar Balogun was headquartered in Epe, Lagos State, and he was a patron of several spiritualists and marabouts who counseled him and claimed to have prayed for General Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida to remain in power during his tenure as this great nation’s military president.
When Ade Bendel was done dealing with the Sheikh, he would be wondering what type of truck hit him, even if the Sheikh had made a comfortable living from the services, he provided to Babangida.
He was completely tricked, and the man who claimed to be able to see Babangida’s destiny was unable to recognize Ade Bendel’s deceit. In order to purchase a ship, Sheikh Abdul-Jabar Balogun sought advice from a prominent socialite who subsequently entered politics and who, coincidentally, was a mutual acquaintance of Ade Bendel.
The Sheikh was informed that Ade Bendel would arrange for the transaction to be completed and the ship bought.
The Sheikh was persuaded to pay N70 million naira through charming conversation. Abdul-Jabar received a notification that the N70 million naira was insufficient after dumping the money. However, the Sheikh had already spent all of his money.
Next, in yet another brilliant stroke of terrible cunning, Ade Bendel suggested that Abdul-Jabar sell some of his exotic vehicles in order to raise the money as soon as possible.