UK-Based Cameroonian Pastor Accused Of Fraud, Fleeing Nigeria After Orchestrating NSCDC Arrest Of Web Designer

Jean Michel Tchamba, a self-proclaimed Cameroonian pastor residing in the UK, has allegedly involved the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in the arrest and detention of Nigerian web designer John Asanga before fleeing the country.

According to a family source who spoke to SaharaReporters on Friday, in August 2023, John was introduced to Pastor Tchamba by his sister, Blessing Asanga. The source described Tchamba as a Cameroonian national holding a British passport.

The source also disclosed that Tchamba presented himself as both a pastor and an employee at University College Hospital in London.

"He approached John to develop IT solutions for his church, NGO, and other projects, including video content, graphics, jingles, websites, and a medical portal,” the source said.

"He claimed that developers in London had quoted nearly £200,000 (₦400 million) for the portal alone. After much persuasion, John agreed to develop each portal for ₦14 million."

The source added that Pastor Jean initially paid ₦7 million in instalments, enabling John to assemble a team and start the project. However, Jean later diverted part of the payment toward additional tasks, including a church portal, which caused delays in completing the original project.

"As John worked, he uncovered troubling activities linked to Pastor Jean, including money laundering and visa fraud disguised as religious initiatives,” the source said.

"Concerned, John considered withdrawing from the project. Around this time, he also discovered that a man named Mr. Fon—introduced to him by Pastor Jean’s UK-based partner—was the true financier of the medical project. Mr. Fon had raised concerns about delays, which were actually caused by Pastor Jean’s diversion of funds. When John disclosed the truth to Mr. Fon, Pastor Jean became hostile and began issuing threats."

On October 7, 2024—just two days before John’s wedding—his ordeal escalated. Armed operatives from the NSCDC stormed an office where John delivered a final presentation.

"Without prior notice or an invitation, John was handcuffed, humiliated, and detained. At their headquarters, he endured verbal abuse, denial of medical care, and restricted access to his lawyer for three days," the source said.

"He was finally allowed to make a statement. However, Pastor Jean confronted John with false allegations. Despite presenting evidence of Jean’s illicit activities, NSCDC operatives forced John to rewrite his statement three times, omitting any incriminating details about Jean. They then forcefully took his work without paying the balance, threatening to disrupt his wedding if he refused to comply."

After his release, John discovered that the medical conference he had organised was moved to another venue using his work, causing him significant financial losses. Immediately after his wedding, he was arrested again in a dramatic raid at his residence.

"This time, John was falsely accused of stealing a laptop and phone belonging to Pastor Jean and was detained without due process," the source added.

While in detention at the NSCDC headquarters, John was subjected to isolation, inhumane treatment, and medical neglect. When he suffered a medical emergency, his condition was ignored until an operative finally intervened. After three days, he was released—only to learn that Pastor Jean had fled the country.

John’s lawyer sent a formal demand to Pastor Jean, requesting payment of his outstanding fees and warning that the matter would be escalated to UK authorities. 

In response, Pastor Jean allegedly sent assassins to John’s residence twice to threaten him into silence. Fearing for their lives, John and his wife went into hiding. However, he reported the threats to the Nigerian police.

"Soon after, John received a court order to appear at a Magistrate Court in Kuje. When he arrived, he sensed that the magistrate had already been compromised," the source explained.

"The hearing lasted less than five minutes before the magistrate ordered that John be remanded at Kuje Correctional Centre for one month until the next hearing.

"He set his bail conditions at two sureties and ₦10 million in physical cash to be brought to the court."

It took the intervention of the High Court in Jabi for John to finally secure bail after spending 21 days in Kuje prison.

"The High Court judge was appalled after reviewing the case file and advised his lawyer to file a petition against the Magistrate Court judge," the source added.

John and his legal team are now pursuing justice while calling for an investigation into NSCDC's role in the case.

When SaharaReporters contacted John's sister, Blessing Asanga, she alleged that Pastor Jean is a compulsive liar who presents himself as a man of God.

"Jean needed someone who could handle video, artwork, and everything to make things easier. Since John was nearby and I knew he was skilled, I introduced him to Jean. We all worked together for a while until, at some point, I was cut out. However, it wasn’t until last year that Jean resurfaced, sharing his version of events.

"When Jean told his story, he claimed I had no idea what was happening. So, I asked my brother, who then told me what actually transpired. That’s when I discovered that Jean had been spreading so many lies. That was just one of the many things I found out about him.

"He even went as far as filing a case with false information, involving people who weren’t even aware of the situation. He falsely claimed they were the ones who made the introduction and other misleading statements. It’s pathetic because he presents himself as a man of God—such a shame," Blessing said.

According to her, when the conference was approaching, John was actually expecting to work on it. 

She said, “Since I was not kept in the loop, I wasn’t aware of the details. John simply asked me to help make arrangements, which I did. However, the conference failed.

"A day before the event, Jean arrived in Nigeria and spoke to me. He said, ‘John did this, John did that. Are you the one who introduced me to him?’ I told him that I didn’t know John to behave that way, but I hadn’t yet heard John’s side of the story. There were several occasions where I told Jean that he was lying too much.

"After I introduced him to John, John did a lot of work for him—creating the church anthem, writing Bible study materials, revamping the social media pages, and much more. Jean even praised John, saying he was doing excellent work and making things easier for him.

"Jean also asked John to design a specific project for him. When I inquired about what happened, John showed me the work he had done. That’s when I realised that Jean owed him money, which was why John had not fully handed over everything.”

She told SaharaReporters that Jean had not completed his payment.

"And I believe John because even when Jean came to Nigeria, he failed to settle payments owed to people who contributed money to the conference. To this day, he has not fulfilled those obligations.

"Jean had promised to send the balance once he got back to the UK, but he never did. It seems to be part of his character—to avoid financial responsibilities and then blame others,” she said.

Blessing explained that after their conversation, Jean initially agreed to meet John to reach an agreement.

However, when he arrived in Nigeria, he got involved with some greedy and selfish individuals who misled him. That was when, for the first time, the Civil Defense Corps came and picked John up.

"I had thought Jean was a reasonable person, but later, I learned about many things that had happened behind the scenes. I kept pleading with him to drop the case since an agreement had already been reached. Eventually, Jean left Nigeria.

"John later suggested that Jean was simply looking for an escape route to leave the country. After leaving, Jean sent someone from Nigeria to handle matters for him, but he has continued acting dishonestly," she added.

Meanwhile, when SaharaReporters contacted Pastor Jean Michel Tchamba, he said John refused to hand over the website to him for over two years.

"He was telling us lies that 14 people were involved. The people developing the website were supposed to be working on it. But when we arrived in Nigeria, we discovered they had collected money from us but never completed the work," he said.

When asked how much John collected, he said, "It's around N40 million. The amount he collected from me is close to N40 million."

When SaharaReporters asked if he had evidence, he said John's sister sat down with him and calculated everything.

"When we went to the Civil Defence office that day, his sister was there, and all the proof was available. If you contact my lawyer, they can provide everything.

"Yes, because he falsely claims to have received the money for legitimate purposes. If you go to the Civil Defence office in Abuja, they have all the records. John cannot deny it. I sent the money directly from my account to his account,” he said.

When asked if he was involved in laundering funds, he said, "Ask him to show proof—just one Kobo that I personally received."

"I am a pastor and a medical professional. John is lying so much that even the devil wouldn’t tell such lies. When I asked him to give me access to the website and domain, he refused. He always made excuses whenever I asked to be connected directly with the developers working on my portal.”

"When I finally arrived in Abuja, I realised that the 14 people he claimed were working on the system never existed. In reality, there were only two people involved. John misled us and delayed the project for almost two years," Jean said.

"For two years, he kept saying he was developing the system. I repeatedly asked him to connect me with the actual developers because I had provided the prototype. But he always refused, making it impossible for me to give direct instructions.

Jean told SaharaReporters that John was just creating a way to extract more money from him.

"When we arrived in Abuja, I realised the truth. But I did not want to punish John. Do you know why? Because of his lies, I was deeply hurt. I provided him with all the tools—computers, laptops, mobile phones, and even paid his rent for a year.

"I am not Nigerian. How could I support someone I had never met in person, only for him to betray me? And now he is even threatening to damage my reputation simply because I asked for an account of how he spent the money.

"Even the money we gave him for the conference—just a few weeks before the event, nothing had been done. I was ashamed of him," Jean alleged.