How pastor defrauded church members of N1.3bn
A pastor, Theophilus Oloche Ebonyi, has been accused of defrauding some members of his church of their money, running into ₦1.3billion.
According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Ebonyi had collected certain fees to register for a phony grant by the Ford Foundation.
The sum of money he gathered from his members had amounted N1,319,040,274.31, before the anti-fraud agency swopped on him.
The agency described Ebonyi as general Overseer of Faith On The Rock Ministry International. He was said to have deceived his members into believing that the Ford Foundation was offering a grant of $20,000,000.000 (Twenty Billion United State Dollars), as a way of assisting the less-privileged in the society.
“His subscribers are innocent and unsuspecting Nigerians and NGOs across the country,” the EFCC said.
EFCC added that “the Ford Foundation had no arrangement, grant, relationship or business with Ebonyi.”
“The Foundation pointedly disclaimed him and his NGO stressing that it had no link whatsoever with them.
“The Commission has also traced five properties he acquired as proceeds of his criminal dealings.
“Ebonyi is still reportedly reaching his subscribers on some social media platforms to market his spurious grant from the Ford Foundation.
“He would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded,” the agency added.
