Police arrest Money Doubles inside Church in Benue

Officers of Benue State Police Command have arrested a Software Engineer, Dr. Philemon Ibrahim Gura and two of his friends, Tivkaa Shimavie and Kenneth Atuwaka over allegation of doubling money for members of the public, at the premises of St. Theresa Catholic Church, High Level in Makurdi, Benue State.

Benue State Commissioner of Police, Bashir Makama said, the suspects had already collected over N4.5 million from a total of 613 people within two days of their operation. Makama also said out of the amount collected from the unsuspecting public, the cash sum of N2.1 million was recovered from the suspects at the point of their arrest, accusing them of hiding under an empowerment programme to defraud people. One of the victims, Aondo Shadrack, 22, spoke to Daily Trust amidst the large crowd that besieged the police headquarters along Ogiri Oko road in Makurdi following the apprehension of the suspects, said he invested N10,000.

“A friend had called me that some people were giving out 100 percent interest on any money given to them under 24 hours at St. Theresa Church, so I went there on Thursday to see things for myself. I discovered that they had started operations the previous day which was Wednesday and were already paying those people who gave them money earlier. “I was impressed by what I saw. I observed that those who gave them N4, 000 were paid N8, 000 and the same rule applied to whatever amount one drops in their hands. Since people were getting double of the amount invested, I then decided to give them N10, 000 so I could collect N20, 000 the following day but I never did as the police later arrested the men behind the scheme,” Shadrack narrated.

Another victim, a food vendor and mother of three, Nlumun Bagu, said she keyed into the programme on the first day because it was announced in the church that some people were around to empower the youths and less privileged.

Bagu said on the first day, she had given the operators of the scheme under the name, Global Funds International, N4, 000 which was doubled for her the following day when she got paid N8, 000, an amount she reinvested before the police swoop on the men.

The story was the same for all, except for slight difference with those who lodged monies between N50, 000 and N1million as they were given various account numbers bearing individual names to deposit their amount. 

However, the suspects have claimed that they were carrying out a legitimate business within the confines of law and had not in any way derailed to warrant the alleged police harassment. 

Gura, who admitted that he was the brain behind the Global Fund International based in the United States, affirmed that he was only doing ‘God’s Work’ by empowering people around the states of the federation.

He accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the police of freezing his account four years ago when he operated under CashFlow investment, adding that the matter had been in court even as the 60, 000 clients who invested then were still expecting their monies.

“I’m not a criminal and don’t need to be a criminal. I only need access to my fund to pay all the people at once. I have a wife and three children and I’m based in US. All my companies are registered, Global Fund too is registered but the police are just frustrating me. 

“Since the EFCC and police freeze my account, I decided to develop another software since I’m a software engineer and that was how Global Fund came into existence, I have credited over 500, 000 Nigerians,” he said.

Gura added that he came into Makurdi following his friend, Shimave’s invitation to come and touch the lives of his church brethren, adding that he met 30 people the first day and extended 25 percent subsidy to them on all products they bought, ranging from rice, provisions, and other essential food items while he gave 100 percent interest on monies invested.

According to him, the crowd overwhelmed him the following day as people on hearing the news trooped into the venue of the programme in their hundreds before the police intercepted his operation.

On his part, the driver, Atuwaka, 29, said he was a graduate and taxi operator in Abuja and was chartered by the duo of Gura and Shimave who taught him in school during their days as youth corps members in Cross River State.

He said: “One of them had called me to bring them to Makurdi. They chartered while doing my legitimate business and I didn’t know the kind of business they were into until they started the operation. I even put in my N14, 000 and have not been paid before the arrest.”

Meanwhile, the Church’s Catechist, Christopher Deva, said he reported the suspects to the police after he observed that their operation was suspicious and completely at variance with what they told the parish leadership that they were coming to do.

Deva said that the suspect had informed the Church through Shimavie that they were coming to empower widows and youths as well as deliver some lectures and that based on the enviable idea, the Church had offered them a hall within its premises for use until it was observed that they were doing something else.

The police commissioner has however warned people to work hard to earn a leaving instead of falling victims to scheme like Global Fund just as one widow who simply gave her name as Mrs Dauda identified Gura as the owner of the CashFlow micro finance company which defrauded her family of N2.9 million in 2013.

Daily Trust