Sen. Joshua Dariye
By agency reports
A former Plateau State Governor and ex-Plateau Central Senator, Joshua Dariye, has petitioned the Nigeria Police over an alleged fraud involving two men who sold him a fake luxury wristwatch for $290,000 (N400,000,000).
Dariye revealed this in a formal complaint dated Nov. 19, 2024, and addressed to the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department (FID), Garki Area 11, Abuja.
He accused Emmanuel Odogwu and Franklin Gideon (alias Kelvin) of criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, and obtaining money under false pretences.
“I humbly wish to complain against one Emmanuel Odogwa and one Franklin Gideon (aka Kelvin) for Criminal Conspiracy, Breach of Trust, Obtaining Money by False Pretences and Fraud,” Dariye wrote in the petition.
He recounted that in April 2024, the duo, who claimed to be staff members of a luxury watch company, offered him a Polo wristwatch for $290,000.
“I paid them the money and they promised to supply same. They did supply the Polo wrist but I discovered it was fake.”
Dariye said he later approached the official Polo Company for verification, only to learn that the watch was a counterfeit and that the suspects were not affiliated with the company.
“I kindly request your esteemed office to track and arrest the suspects who are currently on the run and to also investigate this matter thoroughly and help recover the $290,000 they fraudulently collected from me,” he pleaded.
In a follow-up police statement dated November 22, 2024, Dariye reiterated that Odogwu and Gideon “collected the sum of $290,000 from me, thereafter they sold me a fake wristwatch.”
He added that his attempts to reach them had failed. “Based on further information, I gathered that the above suspects are high profile fraudsters,” he stated.
The case took a new turn when police investigators identified the real identity of one of the suspects as Franklyn Ojo Jatto.
In an affidavit sworn on February 14, 2025, Gregory Woje of the Legal/Prosecution Section at Force Headquarters confirmed that Dariye’s petition had triggered an investigation.
According to the affidavit, Jatto allegedly converted the $290,000 into ₦250 million through a Bureau de Change and transferred the funds to a Keystone Bank account belonging to his company, Franklyn’s Construction Nig. Ltd.
Investigators further discovered that on April 23, 2024, Jatto used N145 million from the proceeds to purchase a property at Sahara III Estate, Lokogoma, Abuja.
The police also uncovered that Jatto operated over 16 bank accounts across Nigeria and abroad, all linked to a single Biometric Verification Number (BVN).
A freezing order was obtained from the Chief Magistrate Court of the Federal Capital Territory to block these accounts.
Further forensic analysis revealed that Jatto had impersonated a staff member of the Polo wristwatch company under the alias “Kelvin.”
On May 8, 2025, he reportedly transferred N100 million from his Keystone account to Mutual Trust Bank, where it was placed in a fixed deposit set to mature in May 2026.
The police are now seeking an interim forfeiture of the assets acquired with the proceeds of the alleged fraud.
“Unless this Honourable Court grants this application, the Respondent may dispose of the property and spend the proceeds of crime in the bank,” the affidavit warned.
It would be recalled that Dariye was convicted and sentenced to 10 years in prison for embezzling the sum of N1.16 billion ecological fund belonging to Plateau State while in office.
He was however later granted presidential pardon by the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
