An American woman who was lured to Nigeria by a man she met on Facebook, has regained freedom.

She was rescued after spending more than a year in captivity.

Police spokesperson Frank Mba said her 34-year-old captor had persuaded her to come to Nigeria “under the pretext of love and deceitfully married her.”

However, he then held her captive in a hotel and extorted $48,000 from her, AFP reports.

“He also forcefully collected and took control of her credit and debit cards as well as the operation of her bank accounts including the receipt of her monthly retirement benefits and allowances over the period of 15 months,” Mba said.

The victim is a retired civil servant in the United States.

She was rescued by a Police Intelligence Response Team following information provided by some Nigerians.