Onyeabuchi Okafor, son of Nollywood star John Okafor, better known as Mr. Ibu, was arrested by officers from the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID) in Alagbon, Lagos, on suspicion of an alleged N50 million scam. In relation to the alleged fraudulent actions, Jasmine Okekeagwu, a lady, was also arrested in addition to Okafor.
In a statement made public in Lagos on Thursday, ASP Aminat Mayegun, the Public Relations Officer for the FCID, formally verified the arrest. Mayegun claims that Okafor and the woman worked together to con the actor out of N50 million that was supposed to go toward Mr. Ibu’s medical care.
The spokesperson also said that the money purportedly stolen from a bank account set up to solicit donations for the actor’s medical bills was successfully recovered by the FCID.
According to FCID spokeswoman ASP Mayegun Aminat, the people were apprehended as a consequence of a September 6, 2023, petition filed by Diamond Waves Law on behalf of Ibu’s wife, Stella Maris Okafor. In the petition, Ibu’s sons, Daniel and Valentine Okafor, as well as one of their girlfriends, Jasmine Okekeagwu, were accused of plotting to deceive their father.
According to her, “Investigation into the case established that as part of efforts to fund his medical bills, Mr. Ibu launched a public fund-raising initiative and attracted donations from his fans, entertainment industry players, and other well-spirited members of the public into a bank account which he publicized and dedicated for the purpose.
At first, Mrs. Stella Maris Chinyere Okafor, Mr. Ibu’s wife, was in charge of handling the money to pay for Mr. Ibu’s medical expenses and support the family.
“However, along the line, the duo of Onyeabuchi Daniel Okafor and Jasmine Chioma Okekeagwu manipulated Mrs Stella Maris Okafor, took possession of Mr. Ibu’s phone and hacked into the banking details therein.
“They then erased the banking apps that had previously been installed on Mr. Ibu’s phone and reinstalled Mr. Ibu’s mobile banking apps on Onyeabuchi Daniel Okafor’s phone, in order to finalize their premeditated fraudulent schemes.
This gave them complete control over Mr. Ibu’s banking operations with regard to the money that the public had donated to help pay for his medical care.
“Through this fraudulent act, Onyeabuchi Okafor and Jasmine Okekeagwu began moving money to Onyeabuchi Okafor’s personal bank from Mr. Ibu’s public fund raising account.
“A forensic analysis of their illicit financial dealings revealed that N55 million had been successfully and criminally transferred before Onyeabuchi Okafor and Jasmine Okekeagwu were apprehended and their case looked into.
“A WhatsApp text exchange between Jasmine Chioma and Daniel Okafor that described their illegal objectives in detail was also discovered during the investigation.
“It was also determined that the two suspects, Onyeabuchi Okafor and Jasmine Okekeagwu, had gotten married in a sham marriage at the Ikoyi Marriage Registry with the intention of fleeing the nation and settling in the United Kingdom with their stolen money. Before they were arrested, they had previously applied for a UK visa in order to carry out their plot.
“During the course of the investigation, the N55 million that had been stolen was tracked to Onyeabuchi Okafor’s bank account. There, it was found that they had squandered a total of N5 million on questionable transactions and the remaining N50 million had been recovered from him.
The casefile has been sent to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions in the interim so that legal counsel can be obtained.
