Kwara pastor apprehended by EFCC for swindling church member of N3.9m

The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, arrested the General Overseer of CAC Freedom City Prophetic and Deliverance Ministry, Ilorin, Kwara State, Adeniyi James, for allegedly defrauding a member of the church to the tune of N3,980,000.

A statement by the Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, made available to our correspondent in Ilorin on Saturday noted that the victim, Oluwole Babarinsa, had in a petition to the commission, alleged that James called him out during a church programme some time in 2021 that he had a revelation that he would travel abroad.

According to the petitioner, the cleric, in the course of giving the revelation, asked him about his preferred country, to which he replied “Canada”.

“Thereafter, we struck an agreement to talk later to perfect arrangements for the trip,” the petitioner said.

“The prophet later told me that he had a friend in Lagos who could help me facilitate my relocation to Canada, but for N1.7 million and N2.5 million for processing of flight ticket and travel documents, respectively”, the petitioner said.

The petitioner further disclosed that he had to sell some of his property and took some loans before he could raise N3,980,000, which he gave the prophet to facilitate his quick relocation to Canada.

The petitioner further said that after prolonged waiting with no result, he became agitated and began to query the prophet’s vision, prompting him to ask for a refund of his money.

He said that all efforts and entreaties to the suspect to refund his money yielded no positive result.

The EFCC said that the suspect would be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of investigations.