Photo of a lookalike arrested by Interpol and Ramon Abbas. Photo Sources: X and BBC
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Claim: An X influencer claims that Hushpuppi has been released and deported to Nigeria.
Verdict: The claim is false. Hushpuppi is still serving his jail time in a United States prison. The photos used in this viral post are of a lookalike who was allegedly arrested by police at Lagos State airport.
Full Text
Ramon Abbas, popularly known as Hushpuppi, has made headlines several times due to rumours of his release from prison in the United States.
From allegedly being spotted attending Davido’s wedding to him receiving a cheering welcome as he “returned” to the country, DUBAWA has had to debunk various claims about the social media sensation.
He was in the news again recently.
An X influencer, Samsonthegoat25, shared a post claiming the convicted cybercrime offender had been released and deported back to Nigeria.
In a post dated Dec. 27, 2025, he wrote, “Ramon Abbas, aka Hushpuppi, has been released and deported back to Nigeria after his 2022 sentencing in the USA. He was released yesterday for good behavior and commitment during his time in prison. Welcome back, Ray Hushpuppi!”
Samson attached two blurry images showing a man resembling Hushpuppi being handcuffed by INTERPOL officers at an airport. Several X users have questioned the veracity of his claim, but Samson insisted it was true, telling his audience, “You know I can’t lie.”
Considering the virality of Samson’s post and the personality involved, DUBAWA decided to verify the authenticity of his claim.
Verification
Given Hushpuppi’s notoriety, news of his release would undoubtedly be a trending topic in Nigeria if trustworthy. However, no such reports have surfaced yet. Apart from fact checks, the last major news we found about Hushpuppi was in November 2022, after his 11-year sentencing in the US.
Furthermore, information from the Federal Bureau of Prisons revealed that Hushpuppi is still serving his time and will not be released until March 2029.
We conducted a reverse image search on the images attached to Samson’s post. The results led to news reports from TVC, PUNCH, and Leadership newspapers. These reports detailed the arrest of one Lawrence Folawunmi at Lagos International Airport in connection with a $1.24 million wire fraud case.
According to the stories, Lawrence was arrested by the INTERPOL Unit of the Force’s Criminal Investigation Department in Lagos, following an extradition petition from the US. He has since been remanded pending his hearing on Jan. 21, 2026.
While this information aligns with narratives by bloggers who also shared these images on social media, PUNCH, and TVC used a different photograph of “Lawrence” in their reports, none of which showed his arrest.
Although DUBAWA confirmed that the individual arrested by INTERPOL is not Hushpuppi, it is unclear whether the “Lawrence” depicted in the newspapers’ images is the same person shown in the viral posts.
Both the pictures circulated by bloggers and those published by newspapers first appeared online between Dec. 23 and 27, 2025. Also, we did not find any social media account linked to this particular Lawrence.
What is certain, however, is that Hushpuppi is still in custody, serving his 11-year prison sentence in the US.
Conclusion
The X user’s claim is false. Hushpuppi has neither been released nor deported to Nigeria.
