EXCLUSIVE: Convicted Ex-Plateau Governor Joshua Dariye Duped of $290,000 in Fake Luxury Watch Deal

Former Plateau State Governor and convicted ex-senator, Chief Joshua Chibi Dariye, has petitioned the Nigeria Police over an alleged $290,000 fraud involving two men who sold him a counterfeit luxury wristwatch.

In a petition dated November 19, 2024, addressed to the Deputy Inspector General of Police, Force Intelligence Department (FID), Abuja, Dariye accused Emmanuel Odogwu and Franklin Gideon (alias Kelvin) of criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, and fraud.

According to Dariye, the suspects posed as staff members of a luxury watch company in April 2024 and sold him a Polo wristwatch for $290,000. He later confirmed with the official Polo Company that the watch was fake and that the men had no affiliation with the brand.

“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,” Dariye wrote.

Police investigators later uncovered that Gideon’s real identity was Franklyn Ojo Jatto, who allegedly converted the $290,000 into ₦250 million through a Bureau de Change and deposited the funds into a Keystone Bank account belonging to his company, Franklyn’s Construction Nig. Ltd.

Further investigations revealed:

• On April 23, 2024, Jatto used ₦145 million of the funds to purchase a property at Sahara III Estate, Lokogoma, Abuja.

• He operated over 16 bank accounts across Nigeria and abroad, all tied to a single BVN.

• On May 8, 2025, he transferred ₦100 million into a Mutual Trust Bank fixed deposit account, set to mature in May 2026.

The police have since obtained a court order freezing Jatto’s accounts and are seeking an interim forfeiture of assets allegedly acquired with the stolen funds.

Dariye’s Prior Conviction

Dariye, governor of Plateau State from 1999 to 2007, was convicted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for embezzling ₦1.16 billion in ecological funds.

• In 2018, the Court of Appeal reduced his 14-year prison sentence to 10 years, citing first-offender provisions under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.

• In 2021, the Supreme Court upheld the 10-year sentence for criminal breach of trust, though it discharged him of misappropriation charges.

A five-member panel led by Justice Mary Odili affirmed his conviction.