Fraudster fleeces the likes of Oyedepo and Dantata claiming he is raising cash for IDPs

SEVERAL prominent Nigerians including Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Church Worldwide have been defrauded by political science graduate Jehu Kwasu who impersonated the Catholic Bishop of Sokoto Diocese Matthew Kukah to obtain money from them.

 

In an audacious scam that saw Mr Kwasu fleece millions of naira from several high profile public figures, he wrote to them claiming to be Bishop Kukah, saying he was raising money for internally displaced persons (IDP). His victims included Bishop Oyedepo who he claimed gave him N500,000, the chairman of the Honeywell Group Oba Otudeko who gave him N1m, Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu who parted with N500,000 and Alhaji Aminu Dantata who gave him N2m.

 

Mr Kwasu said: “I opened a Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) 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.”

 

He is now serving a two-month sentence in Keffi Prison, after admitting on Friday 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 Mr 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 of the 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.

 

“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,” Mr Kwasu added.

 

Bishop Kukah was alerted to the scam by some people close to him and he subsequently petitioned the police, which asked the bank to place a no debit order on his account. Following his inability to withdraw from the account, Mr Kwasu was said to have visited the bank to complain, where he was arrested.

 

Mr Kwasu had earlier been arrested and remanded in prison for impersonating Bishop Steven Akobe of the Anglican Diocese of Kabba in Kogi State but was granted bail. According to the police, he had also attempted to extort money from Senator David Mark, claiming to be Bishop 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. Federal Capital Territory police commissioner, Muhammad Mustafa, stated that Mr Kwasu was arrested by the men of his command, after Bishop Kukah complained about his activities.