Church In Disarray As Prophet Ilongwo Bags 7 Years Jail Term For Swindling Member N59.7m

Posted on September 24, 2022

MICHAEL AKINOLA

A cleric, Prophet Cletus Ilongwo, of the Power of the Holy Ghost Evangelical Ministry in Lagos State, has thrown the members of his church into disarray after he was found guilty and sentenced to seven years imprisonment for swindling a member of his church, Mr. Obinna Ezenwaka, to the tune of N59.7m under false pretence.

P.M.EXPRESS reports that it was the judgment of an Ikeja Special Offences Court in Lagos against Prophet Ilongwo for fraud and stealing.

Apart from the prison terms, the Presiding Judge, Justice Sherifat Solebo, ordered the forfeiture of his property situated at No. 3 Popoola Ajayi Street, Diamond Estate, Amuwo Odofin, to the complainant and a Toyota Prado to the Federal Government as restitution to settle the complainant.

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, submitted that the convict on January 29, 2016, defrauded a former member of his congregation, Mr. Obinna Ezenwaka.

EFCC counsel, Nwandu Ukoha, told the Court that Prophet Ilongwo collected the sum in tranches through his Zenith Bank account number 1003455899.

Ukoha said that 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.

The defence counsel, Mr. Albert Imolodia, in his allocutus, informed 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 convict was said to have dishonestly converted for his use the sum of money, being money received through his Zenith Bank account number 1003495899 from the complainant, which was meant for the purchase of the property situated at No 165C, Block 12, Diamond Estate, Amuwo-Odofin, Lagos.

After the judgment, members of his Church were said to be in shock as he was being taken to custody, where he will spend the number of years without them. They wondered if the spiritual powers he had actually failed him hence the committal.