Prophet remanded in prison for defrauding church member of N49.6m

A Prophet, Cletus Ilongwo, who allegedly defrauded a member of his church of N49.6 million, was on Monday remanded in prison by an Ikeja Special Offences Court in Lagos.

The accused, who appeared in court wearing dreadlocks and a long red garment, is the Founder, Power of the Holy Ghost Evangelical Ministry a.k.a “Tuesday Tuesday Church”.

Justice Sherifat Solebo remanded the accused after he had pleaded not guilty to an 11-count charge levelled against him.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ilongwo was arrested on Saturday by over 100 security officials of both the Nigeria Police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Earlier, Mr Ahmed Yerima, the EFCC Prosecutor, said that Ilongwo committed the offences between January and April 2016.

“Ilongwo collected N13. 5 million from on the pretext that he would help him purchase a property located 165c, Diamond Estate Amuwo Odofin.

“During the period, he received various sums from Ezenwaka also under the pretext of purchasing the same property, but, however, failed to do so.

“The funds were collected from Ezenwaka through Ilongwo’s Zenith Bank Account 1003455899,” Yerima said.

Responding, the defence counsel, Mr P.N Orji, informed the court about a pending bail application he filed on behalf of his client.

Yerima, however, did not oppose the bail application, but requested for more time to respond to the application.

The trial judge adjourned the case until Nov. 14 for hearing of the bail application and Nov. 19 for commencement of trial.

NAN reports that earlier in the year, another church member had accused the prophet of defrauding him of the sum of N85 million.

The alleged N85 million scam had led to the loss of the member’s job in one of the first generation banks in the country.

Ilongwo was invited for interrogation, but he later jumped bail and efforts made to re-arrest him failed until his surety was arrested.

He reportedly abandoned his surety to languish in EFCC detention, prompting a joint operation by the EFCC and the Police to arrest him.

During the operation, which lasted for hours, members of his church allegedly confronted security agents with dangerous weapons, leading to the use of force by the security operatives.

He was, however, arrested in one of the rooms in the church.