Former Plateau State Governor and ex-senator, Joshua Dariye, has petitioned the Nigeria Police over an alleged fraud involving two men who sold him a counterfeit Polo luxury wristwatch for $290,000 (about N400 million).
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In a petition addressed to the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department (FID), Garki Area 11, Abuja, Dariye identified the suspects as Emmanuel Odogwu and Franklin Gideon, also known as Kelvin. He accused them of criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, and obtaining money under false pretences.
Dariye, who governed Plateau State from 1999 to 2007 before later serving as a senator, recalled that in April 2024, the two men, claiming to be staff of a luxury watch company, offered him a Polo wristwatch for $290,000. Upon verification with the official Polo Company, he discovered the watch was counterfeit and that the suspects had no affiliation with the company.
“I paid them the money and they promised to supply same. They did supply the Polo wrist but I discovered it was fake,” Dariye stated in his petition. He said his subsequent attempts to reach the suspects failed, and investigations revealed that they were high-profile fraudsters.
The case took a new turn when police investigators identified the real identity of one suspect as Franklyn Ojo Jatto. According to Dariye, Jatto allegedly converted the $290,000 into N250 million through a Bureau de Change and transferred the funds to a Keystone Bank account under his company, Franklyn’s Construction Nig. Ltd. Dariye added that Jatto used N145 million from the proceeds to purchase a property at Sahara III Estate, Lokogoma, Abuja, and placed N100 million in a fixed deposit account.
Police records show that Jatto operates over 16 bank accounts in Nigeria and abroad linked to a single Biometric Verification Number (BVN). A freezing order has since been obtained from the Chief Magistrate Court of the Federal Capital Territory to block these accounts. Forensic analysis also revealed that Jatto had impersonated a Polo company staffer under the alias “Kelvin.”
The police are now seeking an interim forfeiture of assets acquired with the alleged fraud proceeds, warning that failure to grant the order could result in the disposal of the property and funds.
Dariye’s petition underscores his plea for the suspects to be tracked, arrested, and the $290,000 recovered.
Joshua Dariye was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for embezzling N1.16 billion in ecological funds meant for Plateau State. He was convicted of criminal breach of trust and misappropriation, with a 14-year sentence reduced to 10 years on appeal. The Supreme Court upheld the 10-year sentence in 2021 while discharging him of the lesser misappropriation charge.
This latest petition highlights the former governor’s continued entanglement with high-value fraud cases, now extending to alleged scams targeting him personally.
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