The police in Nasarawa State on Saturday, arrested a 52-year-old man for allegedly defrauding a Pastor of N3.1 million on the pretext of procuring a land for the church.
It was learnt that the suspect, Moses Inobeme who hails from Edo State, introduced himself as a civil engineer to the victim, Pastor Lekan Adewale afterwhich he disappeared when he had successfully collected the said amount.
According to a statement signed by the Police image maker, Micheal Ada, the suspect, after duping the church, relocated to an unknown place with his family and changed his phone number in the hope that he would never be traced.
“The pastor could not believe the sudden disappearance of “Brother Moses Inobeme” as he was fondly called by members of the church. Having waited for months without any clue about his whereabouts, the pastor reluctantly reported the matter to the police.
The police, on receiving the report, swung into action immediately and on February 14, at about 11.00 a.m, detectives attached to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Lafia, demonstrated their professional competency, traced the suspect to Jos, where he was arrested.
The pastor said it started like a dream sometime in August, 2012 when Moses entered the church, declaring his intention to join the church. He was given a warm reception by the church and was also accorded all privileges of a member. Moses told him that the owner of a land adjacent the church consented to sell it to the church. The pastor believed him and released N3.1 million to him to procure the land on behalf of the church,” he stated.
While confirming the arrest, Ibrahim Tarfa, in charge of SCID, praised his men for successfully bringing the culprit to book. He therefore advised members of the public to beware of fraudsters going about claiming to have solution to problems.