An Ikeja Special Offences Court in Lagos State has sentenced a Lagos-based Prophet, Cletus Ilongwo, to seven years imprisonment for defrauding his church member of N59.7 million.
Prophet Ilongwo, is the presiding prophet of the Power of the Holy Ghost Evangelical Ministry, Abule-Ado Bustop, Lagos.
The Prophet was found guilty of seven counts of fraud and stealing.
In her judgment, Justice Sherifat Solebo, ordered the forfeiture of the convict’s property situated at No. 3, Popoola Ajayi Street, Diamond Estate in Amuwo Odofin to the complainant.
“His Toyota Prado SUV is also to be forfeited to the Federal Government as restitution to settle the complainant,” Solebo said.
Recall that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in January 29, 2016, took the prophet to court alleging that he defrauded a former member of his congregation, one Mr Obinna Ezenwaka.
EFCC counsel, Nwandu Ukoha, told the court that Ilongwo collected the sum in tranches through his account with a new generation bank (names withheld).
According to Ukoha, the convict received the amount from Ezenwaka on different occasions in 2016 on the pretext of helping him to purchase a property located at 165c, Diamond Estate, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.
However, the defence counsel, Mr Albert Imolodia, in his allocutus, told the court that the convict was a first-time offender.
“He is a family man who has people that rely on him for their survival. We pray the court to temper justice with mercy,” Imolodia said.
The EFCC counsel, however, urged the court to give the convict the maximum sentence as required by law and a restitution order in line with the Advance Fee Fraud Act
The convicted prophet was arrested in 2016, by the team of the EFCC officials and police officers who stormed his church in Abule-Ado, Lagos
The church, is a Pentecostal church, known as, Power of the Holy Ghost Evangelical Ministry; a.k.a Tuesday-Tuesday- Church.
Prophet Cletus Chukwunweuba Ilongwo, was arrested over allegations of scam made against him by some members of his church and the community.
Before his conviction, he jumped bail leading to the security agents, numbering about 50, comprising of officials of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and policemen from the area, to invade the church after all efforts to report to the EFCC failed.
The petitioner, a member of Prophet Ilongwo’s church reported that he defrauded him of N85 million, which led to the loss of his job in one of the first generation banks in the country.
The convict was later rearrested by the EFCC, when his surety was arrested and reportedly abandoned his surety to languish in EFCC detention, prompting a joint operation by EFCC and the Police to arrest him.
His congregation was said to have prevented his arrest until the security operatives employed maximum force to arrest him inside one of the rooms in the church.
According to people who ply their businesses around the church, the community, on hearing his conviction went wild in jubilation, commending the court and the EFCC for making them heave a sigh of relief, because of his activities and his bodyguards
According to the church community, hoodlums and bodyguards attached to the prophet had subjected them to intimidation, harassment and public assault and all efforts they made to call the attention of the Police to their activities failed.