Michael Makinwa was in Florida for a business meeting. He has gone along with his personal assistant, Damola. A bigger tech company in the U.S. was impressed with Makinwa Enterprises’ reach into different cities in different continents and they had invited him over for a business proposal.

He woke up on his bed the next morning and walked over to the window. He stared at the beach and the people who were having fun or relaxing there. He loved Florida; it was a wonderful place to enjoy a wonderful vacation. Unfortunately, he was here was business purposes and he couldn’t wait to return to Nigeria.

Many Americans, especially those in the U.S. Embassies, all thought everyone in Nigeria would love to ‘escape’ from Nigeria to ‘enjoy’ in America. However, Makinwa would never exchange his love for Nigeria for the States. There was no place like home.

Makinwa had his bath, got dressed and packed his small suitcase. He knew that Damola would have made all the necessary arrangements for their flight back home. All he had to do was pack and be ready. He was happy to have someone as effective as she working for him.

He had hired her after some criminals had forced her to hack his bank account and get access to his house. She had done superb work for him since then and apart from his admiration of her computer skills, he had also fallen in love with her. She claimed she couldn’t date him because he was her boss. He had decided to bide his time and wait patiently.

He walked out of his room and came face to face with Damola who was also packed and ready to go. “Good morning, boss,” she said.

“Good morning,” he replied and then she tried to collect and carry his suitcase like a proper Yoruba lady but he didn’t release the suitcase. They walked to the elevator and with five other people, enjoyed the ride down.

As soon as the elevator doors opened in the lobby, Makinwa and Damola walked out and then a lady rushed over to them. “Mr. Makinwa,” she said, winded.

Makinwa recognized her immediately. She was the wife of one of the executives of the company who had invited him to Florida. As a matter of fact, he and Damola had been guests of the woman and her family two days before.

“Mrs. Hawkins, what a pleasant surprise,” Makinwa said.

“Yes, please, I need to see you on an urgent matter,” Mrs. Hawkins said.

“Right away, Mrs. Hawkins. Let’s sit over there.”

Makinwa and Damola led her to the waiting area in the large lobby. They took a seat at the back where they would not be disturbed. Once they had their seats, Makinwa spoke up. “So, Mrs. Hawkins, how may we help you?”

“Please, call me Linda,” she said.

Makinwa smiled. “Okay, Linda, how may we help you?”

Linda looked around as if making sure no one was listening to them. “My sister was scammed by some guys in your country.”

Makinwa opened his mouth slightly. He wasn’t surprised. Cyber scam was becoming more rampant these days since Yahoo Boys are becoming numerous. He looked over at Damola and they both understood.

“Have you reported to the law enforcement agencies here? Especially the FBI?” Damola asked.

Linda shook her head. “It is too sensitive. My husband doesn’t even know about this matter. We are going to face a lot of ridicule. I wanted to tell you about it when you visited us but I had no chance. I don’t know how you can help and also keep this private.”

Makinwa nodded. “Tell me how it happened and you got to know that the fraudsters are from Nigeria.”

“My sister, Stella is a very kindhearted lady. She can give the last amount of money to anyone who needs her help. She was also single and had just ended a particularly stormy relationship before she met this guy called Stephan Noble. She showed me the guy’s pictures and said he was in the U.S. Army.

“They began to chat and gradually, they fell in love even though she had never met him face to face. Then he talked about how stranded he was, how he had just returned from battle with some terrorists and he needed some money. Stella sent $1000 at first and then gradually, the amount began to increase until she sent him $272,500.”

Makinwa whistled. “That’s a lot of money.”

“Yeah. It actually belongs to my husband, or rather our kids. It was to be for their future. Stella lied to me that she wanted to sue the money for her school stuff. After she sent the money, she was blocked and couldn’t communicate with the guy anymore.

“Then she read an article online titled how to get scammed easily and then she realized that she had been scammed big time. She confessed to me and I hired a guy to track the number that had been used to call her. The location was Lagos. I don’t know how you can help me retrieve the money. My husband must not find out about this.”

Makinwa looked at Damola and raised his eyebrow. She spoke up. “I will need to speak with the guy you hired and then we can get the exact location of the fraudsters.”

“Oh, thank you! But, can you find them?”

“Don’t worry, Linda, we won’t let you down. As long as they are in Nigeria, they will be caught. They are called Yahoo Boys and they have been giving Nigeria a bad name abroad. We will catch them and get them arrested.”

“Okay, but please, I don’t want this in the news at all,” Linda said.

“You won’t, trust me,” Makinwa said. “We just need a number to contact you when the fraudsters get caught.”

Linda nodded and supplied the number. She looked very grateful. “Thank you very much,” she said. She gave Damola the contact of the guy who had traced the location of the fraudsters.

After she left, Makinwa and Damola stood. He faced her and said:

“Let’s go catch some Yahoo Boys.”

They took a taxi to the airport and returned to Nigeria.

Watch out for PART 2

Nice beginning..