A graduate of Political
Science, Jehu Kwasu, has narrated how he impersonated the Catholic Bishop of
Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Matthew Kukah and defrauded prominent Nigerians of
millions of naira.
Kwasu said his victims included Bishop David
Oyedepo of Living Faith Church Worldwide, who he claimed gave him N500,000; the
Chairman, Honeywell Group, Oba Otudeko, N1m; Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, N500,000;
businessman, Alhaji Aminu Dantata, N2m.
He allegedly collected the sums for Internally
Displaced Persons.
He said, “I collected
N500,000 from Otudeko, CEO, Honeywell: From Admiral Kanu, I got N500,000. I
also got N500,000 from Bishop Oyedepo and N2m from Dantata. I also got money
from Gen. Wushishi and others.
“I opened a Guaranty Trust Bank account in
Bishop Kukah’s name. I registered a SIM card in my name, but used Bishop
Kukah’s picture on my True Caller account, so that when I call, his picture
would appear (on the recipient’s phone.)”
Kwasu, who is serving a two-month sentence in
the Keffi Prison, admitted on Friday in Abuja that he realised over N5.7m.
Police sources said only N1.7m was found in his
bank account, adding that the suspect spent most of the money he made on girls
and hard drugs.
It was gathered that
Kwasu, the son of late Anglican Bishop, James Kwasu, also exploited his
father’s name, to extort money from the Katsina State Governor, Aminu Masari,
when the latter was the Speaker, House of Representatives.
The 25-year old explained that he defrauded his
victims by soliciting money on phone to cater to IDPs in the country.
The cleric’s son stated that he obtained a
passport with the name, Mathew Hassah Kukah Jehu, and also opened an account
with the GTB in the same name.
He said, “I called people on the telephone and
told them I was Bishop Kukah. I used his picture on my True Caller account, so
that when I called people, they would think he was the one talking with them.
“I also obtained a passport in Bishop Kukah’s
name which I used to open an account with GTB. The money I realised was paid
into the account and I used an Automated Teller Machine card to withdraw it.”
Punch gathered that Kukah
was alerted to the scam by some people close to him.
The cleric was said to have petitioned the
police, which asked the bank to place a “no debit order” on the account.
Following his inability to withdraw from the
account, Kwasu was said to have visited the bank to complain, where he was
arrested.
Findings indicate that Kwasu had earlier been
arrested and remanded in prison for impersonating Bishop Steven Akobe of the
Anglican Diocese of Kabba, Kogi State, but was granted bail.
The police said Kwasu had also attempted to
extort money from Senator David Mark, claiming to be Akobe.
It was gathered that
the suspect, who had two female siblings, sold his deceased parents’ house in
Kaduna for N10m and lavished the money on girls and a profligate lifestyle.
The Federal Capital Territory Commissioner of
Police, Muhammad Mustafa, stated that Kwasu was arrested by the men of his
command, after Kukah complained about his activities.
-Punch
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