Two Toronto sisters—both with notable followings on Instagram—have been arrested in Lagos, Nigeria for allegedly cyerbullying and extorting a Nigerian billionaire, according to the Toronto Star.
Sisters Jyoti and Kiran Matharoo have been accused of blackmailing Femi Otedola, a Nigerian businessman who made his money leading an oil marketing and power generation company. With a net worth of about $1.8 billion, the married father of four is the third richest person in Nigeria in 2016, and the 16th richest person in Africa in 2015, according to Forbes.
Citing news sites in Nigeria, the Toronto Star reports that the two sisters claimed to have evidence of Otedola cheating on his wife, which they threatened to post on an infamous sex-scandal website. The two sisters were arrested for their blackmail attempt after a private investigation.
Court documents from Dec. 20 indicate that the Matharoo sisters are accused of being "responsible" for "cyberbullying" around 274 people, who are "mostly based in various regions of Africa." To execute the cyberbullying, the sisters allegedly used the website NaijaGistLive as well as Instagram and Twitter accounts.
Global Affairs Canada, a Canadian government department that manages the country's diplomatic relations, have confirmed that their consular services are being provided to the two sisters, who are Canadian citizens.
The sisters, who are reportedly currently being detained in Lagos, have about 50,000 followers combined on Instagram.
