By Joy Anyim
A pastor has run into trouble in Lagos for allegedly defrauding his parishioner of N10 million.
The Nigerian Xpress gathered that the pastor, Abimbola Olanrewaju, who heads a parish of The Redeemed Christian Church of God in Iju-Ishaga area of Lagos, allegedly persuaded the victim, Mr. Eniola Adedamola, into parting with the money, he claimed would be invested in forex trading.
The 41-year-old cleric had also promised Adedamola N1 million as return on investment (ROI) monthly.
Not doubting Olanrewaju’s reputation and convinced with his explanation, the victim had gone borrowing to raise the N10 million to invest in the business.
However, two years after collecting the money, the pastor is yet to return the capital or even make good his promise of paying the victim N1 million monthly as ROI.
In a petition to the State Criminal Investigations and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Panti in Yaba, Adedamola had alleged that he had approached the pastor several time, complaining of not receiving his monthly return but got no justifiable response.
Even when asked to return the N10 million, it was learnt that the suspect had not been able to pay back.
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Adedamola speaks about his predicament: “Mr. Olanrewaju is my parish pastor. It all started in 2017, on a Sunday, he was preaching and he talked about the need to diversify our means of income ,considering the current economic situation.
“He spoke convincingly about forex trading and how rewarding it is. As a pastor, I did not doubt him and I believe many others did not too.
“I spoke with him later and he sounded very sure of the business and told me that was what he was into. He told me the more I invest, the better. So, I went out, also told some friends and convinced them to invest. Because of the trust they had in me, they gave me money and it all amounted to N10 million.
“I gave him the money, and he said I would be getting N1 million as returns monthly. He also stated that whenever I want to pull out my capital, I could do so. I was excited and looked forward to reaping from such profitable business.
“It was, however, shocking that three months after giving him the money, I did not get any returns paid. I asked him and he said times were bad and business was not good. Six months after, the people I got the money from started calling for their money.
“I called him, but he said I should give him more time that the business collapsed. I informed the church elders, who called a meeting to address the issue. They asked him if he truly invested the money and he said he did, but that the whole money had gone down the drain.
“It was at this point that I had to get the police involved. At first, I did not want this to come this far, because I felt he is a man of God, but I can no longer face my friends. They are on my neck to pay back the money I collected, not to even talk of the interest.”
Asked if he was the only one in the church, who had given the suspect money to invest, Adedamola said, “I can only speak for myself. I don’t know if any other person also gave him money. I have not heard of such. If there are, maybe they are still afraid to confront him.”
It was learnt at the SCIID that the petition against the pastor was received on March 19, 2018.
The suspect was then invited for questioning, detained and released. On his release in 2018, he had promised to start paying back the money monthly but failed to do so.
A police source at the SCIID said, “When the suspect whom we learnt is a pastor came here in 2018, we asked him what he used the money for, but he was not straight. He promised to pay back the N10 million. He was to pay specified sum monthly. But he was not faithful with the agreement.”
The source disclosed that the suspect had been charged to court for fraud. “About a year after the initial complaint, specifically April 15, 2019, the suspect was rearrested and charged to the Ebute-Meta Magistrate Court for fraud.
“He pleaded not guilty but had been remanded in prison custody till the next adjournment date, May 14, 2019.”