How impersonator almost ruined my career, by Wizkid

Popular pop star, Ayodeji Balogun, a.k.a. Wizkid, has commended the Lagos State police command for redeeming his image before his international clients and arresting a 19-year-old fraudster who ripped prospective clients abroad of their hard earned money.

“I am very thankful to the Nigeria police for what they did for me. The case has been going on for a while now, I thank God we have been able to arrest one of the suspects. We would pursue this case to the court and ensure we get justice.

“The actions of these fraudsters have affected my business worldwide. I still have two cases pending in New York, United States now. There was a particular case of a $45,000 that was collected from a promoter in USA by these fraudsters using my name. There is another case of $25,000.

I am happy my name is being cleared and I want justice.

“The situation has affected me psychologically because I was being accused of taking money I knew nothing about. The press also did not believe me so that dampened my morale,” the singer said.

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Fatai Owoseni, few weeks ago revealed that a 19-year-old girl, who for long had been posing as Wizkid on social media, had been arrested.

The teenager was said to have duped many people, including students of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) before she was arrested. Among her victims were two people living overseas. The money was over $53,000, equivalent of about N10.4 million.

According to Owoseni, the suspect, who is a student of one of the universities in the country, was arrested after Wizkid reported the case to the police command complaining that someone was impersonating him and duping unsuspecting persons.

The suspect opened a Facebook account in Wizkid’s name and displayed the artiste picture. She started chatting with friends on Facebook, pretending to be Wizkid.