Police nab FCT minister’s impersonator

Police have arrested one suspect, Terhemba Tsuum (39) for impersonating the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, and defrauding people of N38 million. Parading the suspect, the FCT Police Command spokesperson, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, said upon report of the matter, “The police launched an investigation and with the deployment of modern technology, we were able […]

Police have arrested one suspect, Terhemba Tsuum (39) for impersonating the FCT Minister, Malam Muhammad Musa Bello, and defrauding people of N38 million.

Parading the suspect, the FCT Police Command spokesperson, DSP Anjuguri Manzah, said upon report of the matter, “The police launched an investigation and with the deployment of modern technology, we were able to trace the suspect to Benue State, where he was arrested and brought back to the FCT to face the law.”

In a chat with the media, the suspect confessed to committing the crime and regretted that he was unaware of the gravity of the offence, even as he also disclosed that he had since refunded almost all the monies to his victims, except about N5m, including N1.9m, belonging to one Mimi, who reported the case to the police for failure to return her money.   

He said he returned the monies because his mind was “shaking” and he “could not bear it. 

“It was when I knew I was doing something wrong that I started returning all the monies to them. I have been in Abuja close to five years now, but I had not always been in this business. I went into the ‘agent’ business because things were not going well.

“I started using the minister’s name because I thought it is the person people would be convinced, not because I have any contact or any dealing with him. I don’t even know him, he doesn’t even know me,” he said.

On how he was able to convince the people to part with their money, the 39-year-old holder of Diploma in Theatre Arts, disclosed that as an agent, his job was to “connect those who have land to sell with buyers and get five percent.

“I did everything alone. I don’t have any link with anybody. The total money, when I calculated it, was N38m. Though I didn’t collect the money at one time, people were giving me the money one after the other at different times.”