Augustine Obaje, a 53-year-old pastor and former state director of Peace Corps, has been ordered by Chief Magistrate Abdullahi Mopah to be detained in prison custody for impersonation and extortion.
Obaje stands accused of impersonating the Kogi State Director of the Department of State Services (DSS), Mr. Tosin Ajayi, and spreading false information about the former governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello.
According to court charges, Obaje fraudulently obtained the sum of three hundred thousand Naira (N300,000) from Dr. Simeon Oyigu Omakoji, Chairman of Kogi East Neighbourhood Watch, under the guise of being sent by Mr. Tosin Ajayi, committing an offense of cheating by impersonation.
Additionally, Obaje allegedly extorted money from Dr. Omakoji by falsely claiming that the immediate past governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, had sent assassins and kidnappers to eliminate him. This induced fear in Dr. Omakoji, leading to the delivery of various sums totaling two million Naira (₦2m) to avoid being kidnapped or killed.
The prosecution counsel, Yahaya Olanrewaju, has requested the remand of Obaje pending the conclusion of the investigation.
