Conman Impersonating Bishop Kukah Jailed

The wages of sin is death, says the Holy Bible.
But a serial conman paid less price today with a 3-year jail term for impersonating Bishop Hassan Matthew Kukah and another priest.
Jehu Kwasu was sentenced by Justice Binta Fatima Isah of the Kaduna State High Court sitting in Zaria. He got no option of fine.
Kwasu was arrested for attempting to defraud a former governor of Abia State while posing as the respected Catholic Priest, Bishop Kukah.
Kwasu was tried on a 2-count charge of forgery and obtaining by false pretence.
The convict’s journey to prison started when the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) received a petition from one Chief Okafor, the Chairman of Chikason Group of Companies.
Kwasu had once again impersonated one Bishop Josiah Fearon and obtained the sum of N5million from him under the pretext that the funds would be used to help the 2011 post election violence victims in Kaduna.
When he was arraigned, the convict was granted bail by the court but he violated the bail terms and absconded.
He was eventually brought back to the commission by his sureties and presented before the court.
Again, he was granted bail. And again, he jumped bail.
It took the intervention of the police to bring him to justice.
In today’s proceeding, the convict changed his plea from ‘not guilty’ to ‘guilty’.
In view of his new plea, counsel for the prosecution, B. M. Buhari, urged the court to convict him accordingly.
Justice Binta convicted Kwasu and sentenced him to two years imprisonment for the offence of obtaining by false pretence and a year imprisonment for the offence of forgery.
The sentence is to run concurrently.
The convict was also ordered to refund the sum of N5million to the complainant.
In a related development, Justice Idrissa Kolo of the Federal High Court Kano also convicted and sentenced one Christopher Ngene to nine years imprisonment without option of fine on three counts of conspiracy and obtaining by false pretence.
The convict fraudulently induced the complainant through a phone call to part with N200, 000 on the pretext that the money would be used to purchase solar panel.