Operatives of the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Alagbon, Lagos, have arrested Onyeabuchi Okafor, son of popular Nollywood actor, John Okafor aka Mr. Ibu, for alleged N50 million fraud.
The FCID arrested Okafor alongside a woman identified as Jasmine Okekeagwu for the alleged fraud.
The department’s Public Relations Officer, ASP Aminat Mayegun, confirmed the arrest in a statement on Thursday in Lagos.
She said Okafor and the woman conspired to defraud the actor of N50 million donated for his medical treatment.
The spokesperson added that FCID had also recovered the money that was allegedly stolen from a bank account created to raise funds for the actor’s treatment.
Mayegun said: “On September 6, 2023, the defendant received a petition from Diamond Waves Law on behalf of Mrs. Stella-Maris Okafor (the actor’s wife), alleging fraud.
“Investigation into the case established that as part of efforts to fund the actor’s medical bills, he launched a public fund-raising initiative and attracted donations from many people of goodwill into a designated account.
“The complainant was initially managing the funds to defray the medical bills of her husband and sustain their family.
“However, along the line, the duo of Onyeabuchi Okafor and Jasmine Okekeagwu manipulated Mrs. Okafor, took possession of the actor’s phone, and hacked into the banking details.
“They, thereafter, re-installed the actor’s mobile banking applications on the phone of Onyeabuchi Okafor preparatory to the perfection of their preconceived fraudulent plans and wiped off the banking applications originally installed on the actor’s phone.
“They, thereby, took direct and full charge of banking activities of the actor about the funds being donated by members of the public in support of his medical care.”
“Through this fraudulent act, Onyeabuchi and Okekeagwu started transferring funds from the actor’s public fund-raising account to Onyeabuchi’s personal bank account.
“A forensic analysis of the duo’s illicit financial dealings established that a total of N50 million was successfully and criminally transferred from the account before their arrest.
“Investigation also revealed text messages via WhatsApp between Onyeabuchi and Okekeagwu detailing stage-by-stage how they allegedly conspired and committed the fraud.
“It was also established that the two suspects had a sham marriage at the Ikoyi Marriage Registry with plans to escape from the country to the United Kingdom where they intended to settle with their proceeds of crime.
“They already applied for a UK Visa in furtherance to this plan before their arrest.
“During the investigation, the stolen N50 million was traced to the bank account of Onyeabuchi.
“It was discovered that they had squandered a total of N5 million on questionable transactions, while the balance of N50 million was recovered from him.
“The suspects were charged to court on Thursday.”
