Nigerian Igwe investigated for bigamy

Written by Patience Nyangove
Thursday, 17 June 2010

NIGERIAN, Ben Karibo Nwahin, who was last month allegedly implicated as a king-pin in a human smuggling syndicate before he was arrested for trying to bribe Informanté journalists is now also being investigated by the Namibian Police for bigamy. Police spokesperson, Deputy Commissioner, Hophni Hamufungu said Nwahin is legally married to two Namibian women.

Hamufungu said one of the women believes Nwahin is a Nigerian while the other one was told when they got married that he is a Sierra Leonean.

“Ben Karibo Nwahin is currently facing a corruption charge in court and his bail application is ongoing. We are also likely to charge him with other charges of bigamy after investigations revealed that he is married to two Namibian women, in one case as a Nigerian in another one as a Sierra Leonean. He will also be charged with human smuggling,” Hamufungu said.

When Informanté exposed Nwahin for human smuggling he tried to bribe Informanté journalists with six pieces of Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC), Graça, Four Cousins wine bottles and N$2,800 before he was arrested for corruption.

A two week long Informanté investigation unearthed how Nwahin allegedly made thousands of US dollars in trafficking men from West Africa and the Democratic Republic of Congo into Angola via Namibia.

Informanté established that illegal immigrants from impoverished West African countries enter the DRC legally because of the country’s lax immigration laws, where they meet Nwahin’s contact there who, through his connections at border posts, smuggles the immigrants into Zambia and Namibia illegally for at least US$550 each.

Investigations also revealed that most of the immigrants enter Namibia using the Wenela Border Post through an immigration authority contact before travelling to Oshikango.

Once the illegal immigrants enter Oshikango, they are put under the care of Nwahin who smuggles them into Angola for US$1,300 for Nigerians and US$1,500 for non-Nigerians.

While waiting to be smuggled into Angola, the illegal immigrants live in overcrowded and squalid conditions, in a filthy room behind Paulu’s Mini Restaurant next to Oshikango Garage.

The illegal immigrants are also allegedly kept under strict isolation to avoid detection by the police or immigration officials.