Invictus Obi: Crime doesn’t pay ‘last last’, Nigerians react

Nigerians have reacted to the sentencing of international criminal, Obiwanne Okeke fondly called Invictus by a United States Court.

The Nigerian was globally celebrated when he was named on Forbes Africa 30 under 30 for 2016 while still 28 years old, owning investments in oil and gas, agriculture, private equity, alternative energy, telecom and real estate. He operated his holdings under the ‘Invictus Group.

But the tables soon turned three years later when the master’s degree holder in International Business and Counter-Terrorism from Monash University, Australia was arrested on August 6, 2019, and charged with two counts of computer and wire fraud. On June 18, 2020, he pleaded guilty to two count charges of internet fraud in the United States that caused $11M in losses to his victims.

Additionally, Okeke engaged in other forms of cyber fraud, including sending phishing emails to capture email credentials, creating fraudulent web pages, and causing other losses to numerous victims.

His sentencing to 10 years imprisonment on Wednesday has left numerous remarks from Nigerians on Twitter with one admitting that “When Obinwanne Okeke (Invictus Obi) was flaunting illegal money, friends were all over him, even Forbes recognized him. Now that owo palaba ti segi(now that justice has caught up with him), no one can boldly come out to say “he’s my friend”…”

See more comments from Twitter below:

Ebo Emakhu (QrisEbo) @EboEmakhu advised that “while you’re choosing mentors and aspiring to be like others, look beyond the surface and don’t let anyone RUSH you!”