EFCC Arrests General Overseer Over Alleged N1.3 Billion Fake Grants

EFCC Arrests General Overseer Over Alleged N1.3 Billion Fake Grants

  • A man of God has landed in the EFCC net as he is accused of scamming church members with fake grants from the Ford Foundation
  • Apostle Theophilus Oloche Ebonyi has been arrested for money laundering by the anti-graft agency
  • Ford Foundation has denied "any link whatsoever" with the general overseer of Faith On The Rock Ministry International

Legit.ng journalist Esther Odili has over two years of experience covering political parties and movements.

FCT, Abua - The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested the general overseer of Faith On The Rock Ministry International, Apostle Theophilus Oloche Ebonyi.

EFCC, Faith On The Rock Ministry International, Apostle Theophilus Oloche Ebonyi, Ford Foundation
EFCC chairman Mr. Ola Olukoyede has warned the commission's private investigators against taking bribes. Photo credit: @officialEFCC
Source: Facebook

Operatives of the EFCC arrested Ebonyi for defrauding church members and other Nigerians using fake grants from the Ford Foundation to the tune of N1, 319,040,274.31 billion, Leadership reported.

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EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, made this known in a statement on Monday, February 5, in Abuja, The Guardian reported.

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Oyewale noted that Apostle Ebonyi would be charged to court as soon as investigations are concluded.

How Ebonyi scams his members

The cleric was traced and nabbed for defrauding his victims, comprising non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and individuals.

He achieved this by advertising an intervention project through his NGO (Theobarth Global Foundation) claiming that the Ford Foundation was offering a grant of $20,000, 000. 000, to assist the less-privileged in the society.

Ebonyi was said to be reaching his subscribers on some social media platforms to market his spurious grant from Ford Foundation.

Oyewale said:

“He allegedly beguiled his victims to subscribe as beneficiaries of the phony grant by asking them to pay for registration forms and clusters."

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Investigations by the EFCC showed that the Ford Foundation had no arrangement, grant, relationship or business with Ebonyi.

“I’m a ritualist": Nigerian pastor tells congregation, says it is biblical

In another development, Legit.ng reported that Francisca Emmanuel, a senior pastor of the Transformation World Ministries, has declared that she is a ritualist.

Pastor Emmanuel claimed in one of her recent sermons that it is biblical to be a ritualist rather than just kneeling and praying, The Punch reported.

The Christian cleric further stated that one needs more than prayer to conquer all the principalities and power of the darkness that are working against one's destiny.

Source: Legit.ng

Authors:
Esther Odili avatar

Esther Odili (Politics and Current Affairs Editor) Esther Odili is a journalist and a Politics/Current Affairs Editor at Legit.ng with 6+ years of experience. She Holds OND and HND in Mass Communication from the Nigerian Institue of Journalism (NIJ), where she was recognized as the best student in print journalism in 2018. Before joining Legit.ng, Esther has worked with other reputable media houses, such as the New Telegraph newspaper and Galaxy Television. In 2024, Esther obtained a certificate in advanced digital reporting from the Google News Initiative. Email: esther.odili@corp.legit.ng.

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