- Pastor Afolabi Samuel confessed to having stolen the money, EFCC claims
- He colludes with a worker at Covenant University Blessing Kolawole, who is at large
Pastor Afolabi Samuel of the Living Faith Church (Winners’ Chapel), who allegedly stole over N37 million has been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Monday.
The pastor and his accomplice Blessing Kolawole were charged for allegedly stealing $90,000 (N32,625,000.00) and N4.5m belonging to the registered trustees of the church, report says.
Pastor Samuel was an accountant and the church’s treasurer until he committed the crime.
He was arraigned before the Lagos State Special Offences Court on two counts of conspiracy and stealing.
Samuel was said to have colluded with Blessing Kolawole, an employee of the Covenant University (owned by the church).
Kolawole, according to police source, is currently at large.
They both conspired and dishonestly stole the money and converted the same to their personal uses.
The EFCC’s petition which was dated June 26, 2019, and signed by Chioma Okwuanyi and Co. legal practitioners, Samuel, who was employed in the account department of the church to maintain proper records of funds, allegedly connived with Kolawole and others to take advantage of their position as the church’s treasurer.
The EFCC petition read: “The duo started carrying out various acts of breach of trust and fraudulent commission of unconscionable economic crime and sabotage by unlawfully diverting to their private use the church’s money in Pastor Samuel’s custody without the permission of the church.
It was gathered that their fraudulent activities were discovered in December 2018 “when they ran out of luck and all their secret acts of economic sabotage and financial crime of fraudulently tampering with the church’s money were revealed.”
Meanwhile, EFCC claimed that Pastor Samuel, who lives around the church on Raji Oba Street, Akowonjo, Lagos, has admitted to committing the act.
The offences contravene sections 278, 285 and 490 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State No. 11, 2011.
His bail application will be heard on December 10, 2019.
Meanwhile, the presiding judge, Mojisola Dada, said he should remanded him at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre.