On Thursday, January 25, the Nigerian Police took into custody the son and daughter of well-known Nigerian actor John Ikechukwu Okafor, often known as Mr. Ibu.
The arrest was related to an alleged theft of N55 million in donations given to the actor while he was ill, according to the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (FCID) in Ikoyi, Lagos State.
Oyeabuchi Daniel Okafor is charged with plotting with Jasmine Chioma Okekeagwu, Mr. Ibu's adopted daughter.
According to a statement released by the FCID on Thursday, the actor's wife Stella Maris Chinyere Okafor filed a petition with Diamond Waves Law, claiming that her husband's two sons had plotted to swindle their father with the help of their adopted daughter Jasmine. This petition led to the actor's detention.
"On September 6, 2023, a petition was received from Diamond Waves Law on behalf of Stella Maris Chinyere Okafor. In the petition, it was claimed that Jasmine Chioma Okekeagwu and Onyeabuchi Daniel Okafor, both sons of Mr. John Ikechukwu Okafor (Alias Ibu), had conspired to defraud Mr. Ibu while he was ill.
"The investigation into the case revealed that Mr. Ibu started a public fund-raising campaign to help pay for his medical bills. He solicited donations from his admirers, members of the entertainment industry, and other kind-hearted people, and deposited them into a bank account that he made public and designated for that purpose.
According to the police inquiry, Stella Maris Chinyere Okafor, the spouse of Mr. Ibu, was in charge of handling the money at first for the purpose of covering the medical expenses. But Jasmine Okekeagwu and Daniel Okafor tricked the wife, took over the phone that had the bank account, and hacked the account information.
The pair moved N55 million from the donations made for Daniel Okafor's medical cost, according to police spokesperson ASP Mayegun Aminat. They also reinstalled the banking software on the actor's phone.
According to the police, the perpetrators had previously planned a fictitious marriage and registered for UK visas in order to flee from the country.
“They thereafter re-installed the mobile banking applications of Mr. Ibu on the phone of Onyeabuchi Daniel Okafor preparatory to the perfection of their preconceived fraudulent plans and wiped off the banking applications originally installed on Mr. Ibu's phone, thereby, taking direct and full charge of banking activities of Mr. Ibu in relation to the funds being donated by members of the public in support of his medicals,” the police said.
A total of fifty-five million naira were illicitly transferred from Mr. Ibu's fundraising account to Onyeabuchi Daniel Okafor's personal account, according to forensic investigation.
Five million naira of the fifty million naira that the police were able to retrieve from the accused have already been spent by the pair.
"Onyeabuchi Daniel Okafor and Jasmine Chioma Okekeagwu have been charged with conspiracy and stealing in Chief Magistrate Court 1, Yaba in Charge No. A/06/2024, based on the strength of the evidence."
Since then, N15 million in bail has been given to both, along with two sureties. The case will now reopen on March 11, 2024.
For legal counsel, the casefile has been sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution in the interim.
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