An internet romance scam took an unexpected turn, writes Adaobi Tricia Nwaubani.
When Maria Grette first discovered that the 58-year-old Danish man with whom she had fallen in love was actually a 24-year-old Nigerian "419" internet scammer, the 62-year-old Swede was distraught. But, soon, her feelings changed.
"The most terrible thing was not that he had cheated me, but that he had lost his innocence," she said.
She became consumed with what she describes as "a profound need to make a difference to the people of Nigeria".
Ms Grette's relationship with Johnny (not his real name) began after an evening of fun and games with her girlfriends, during which they playfully created a profile for her on an online dating website. A few years before, she had gone through a traumatic divorce, and her friends teased her about finally starting a new relationship.
But when the fun of creating her profile was over, Ms Grette, who works as an arts teacher, painter and arts therapist, didn't give much further thought to the website.
"I received messages telling me that people had contacted me, but I never looked at them," she said.
Then, one day, she did.
"I still don't know why," she said. "It was like a sudden impulse happening before I could stop it."
That particular message was from a man who described himself as a Dane raised in South Carolina, USA; a civil engineer working on a contract in England; a widower with a son in a Manchester university.
"I was caught up by the atmosphere and by something in his words," she said.