Photos: Nigerian prophet sentenced to 7yrs in jail for defrauding church member

A prophet Cletus Ilongwo has been sentenced to 7 years imprisonment by an Ikeja Special Offences Court for defrauding his church member of N59.7 million.

Ilongwo was first arraigned in 2018 by the EFCC for defrauding a member of his church. Ilongwo is the presiding pastor of the Power of the Holy Ghost Evangelical Ministry in Lagos. The church member had reported the case claiming to have been defrauded up to the tune of N 85 million.

According to the church member, he lost his job in one of the first-generation banks in the country because of Ilongwo’s act.

Ilongwo has been found guilty of seven counts of charges bordering on fraud and stealing.

Delivering judgment, Justice Sherifat Solebo ordered the forfeiture of the convict’s property situated at No. 3 Popoola Ajayi St., Diamond Estate in Amuwo Odofin, to the complainant.

“His Toyota Prado is also to be forfeited to the Federal Government as restitution to settle the complainant,” Solebo said.

EFCC counsel, Nwandu Ukoha, told the court that Ilongwo collected the sum in tranches through his bank.

Ukoha continued by saying that the convict received the amount from Ezenwaka on different occasions in 2016 under the guise of helping him to purchase a property located at 165c Diamond Estate, Amuwo Odofin, Lagos.