EFCC ARRESTS SELF-ACCLAIMED IMO TRADITIONAL RULER OVER MULTIMILLION NAIRA FRAUD HOW HE LIVES A LIFE OF SLEAZE IN ABUJA

A serial fraudster, and self-acclaimed traditional ruler Desmond Nnamdi Ali from Imo State has been arrested by EFCC for defrauding a widow in Abuja.

Desmond Nnamdi Ali,  traditional ruler from Imo State, moved into Abuja sometimes in January 2024 and was residing in a one bedroom accommodation in Wuse 2, Abuja. Hardly has he settled in Abuja before he started parading himself as the owner of the entire property at 8A, Thaba Tseka Street,Wuse 2, Abuja, and of vast lands in choice high brow locations in the F.C.T Abuja, all in a bid to fool his victims and create an aura of wealth.

His stock in trade, according to sources is to  claim to have extensive investments in oil and gas, including ownership of oil barges he deployed for oil bunkering activities. He usually drives around Abuja City, in exotic vehicles, without registration plate numbers. To some people, Desmond also claims to be a University of Lagos trained medical doctor. Though he does not “practice” medicine, he is known to administer injections and prescribe medication.

 

Reports claim that  Desmond, who is believed to be a name dropper, would boasts to victims that as a traditional ruler, he is powerfully connected with prominent Nigerians hence you cannot touch him. He also claims to have the   ears of top government officials in Imo State, who are his very close friends, promising people various mouth-watering and unbelievable favours.

Desmond Ali  was said to have approached one of his latest victims, a helpless widow ( names withheld), proposing to assist her with contentious matters relating to the estate of her deceased husband. He claimed to have assisted a number of widows in the past, including one, Mrs Ibeto, a widow from his village, and another widow from Plateau state.

All this he said, he achieved because of his position as a traditional ruler and his position in the council of traditional rulers which gives him access to all the traditional rulers in the country and puts him in a position to influence decisions in any problem brought by him to authorities in any part of the country.

 

Desmond introduced the widow to everyone as his sister, claiming her grandmother is a native of his village since the widow is not from the same state as him.

The self-acclaimed traditional ruler manipulated the widow into parting with huge amounts of money that the widow provided, believing he was resolving the issues.

Desmond Ali subsequently asked the widow to lease to him, her son’s property, a vacant 4 bedroom duplex, which had been left in her care.

 

His request was granted, and Mr Desmond signed the lease agreement but promised to pay the rent at a later date as he was expecting some money from his oil business. He also proposed his driver, one Danjuma, to witness the lease agreement.

 

This was vehemently rejected by the widow, and he subsequently promised to provide another witness, which he never did. He hurriedly moved out of the room one-room apartment at 8A Thaba Tseka Street,Wuse 2 into the Duplex.

Quickly, he relocated his family, wife, children, and siblings from his village in Imo state to his new apartment in Abuja. He also enrolled his 3 children at the Prestigious Turkish International school, Abuja. Unknown to the widow, all these were at her expense.

 

A staunch member of the Jehovah Witness, he attends meetings at the Kingdom hall, Gwarinpa circuit, where he claims to be an elder. He hosted their meetings and get togethers at the rented apartment.

Despite claiming to be an elder, he wears heavy gold jewelries around town, which is an abomination for Jehovah Witness members.

 

Before long, Mr Desmond started laying claim to ownership of the 4 bedroom duplex, telling people he had purchased the property. When he refused to pay the agreed rent and provide a witness to the agreement, his activities became questionable, and he was evicted from the apartment.

 

He had resided at the apartment for 3 months without making any payment as contained in the lease agreement for his stay there.

Desmond then moved with his family to a 2 bedroom flat in the Jahi district where he currently resides.

 

Sources also revealed that he is still indebted to the owner of the one bedroom accommodation he occupied at 8A Thaba Tseka st, Wuse 2,to the tune of N4,758,000 for the period he took up residence at the property from 30th January, 2024 till 22nd November, 2024.

In all these, he has established a reputation of a compulsive liar and has a penchant for calling the name of God, swearing on the lives of his children, swearing on his throne when obviously lying.

 

On further investigation, it was established that the funds he had received from the widow were not applied to the purposes he requested them for.

When he was confronted, he became aggressive, threatening the widow’s life and making various allegations including that the widow had no evidence he had received any money from her as a larger part was given to him in U.S Dollars cash. Indeed , it was after the development that the widow realized that the whole idea of insisting on collecting dollars  in cash was done to cover his tracts.

A petition was lodged with the EFCC, and after due process was followed, Desmond Nnamdi Ali was arrested in the early hours of the 6th of May, 2025.