The Ilorin Zonal Command of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arrested Adeniyi James, the pastor and general overseer of CAC Freedom City Prophetic and Deliverance Ministry, Ilorin, Kwara State, for allegedly defrauding a member of his church to the tune of N3,980,000.
According to the EFCC, the pastor was arrested on Tuesday, April 2, 2024, following a report from the victim, Oluwole Babarinsa.
James’ arrest was disclosed in a statement released by the Head of Media and Publicity of the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, on Saturday.
In the statement, the EFCC revealed that in a petition to the commission, Babarinsa alleged that James called him out during a church programme in 2021, claiming that he had a revelation that he (Babarinsa) would travel abroad.
When the priest asked the victim what country he would like to visit during his prophecy, the victim said, “Canada.”
The General Overseer then assured him that he would put him in touch with a friend in Lagos who might help make his desire to visit Canada a reality, but processing the request would cost him N3.7 million.
He said, “Thereafter, we struck an agreement to talk later about perfecting arrangements for the trip. The prophet later told me that he had a friend in Lagos who could help me facilitate my relocation to Canada, but for N1.7 million and N2.5 million for the processing of flight tickets and travel documents, respectively.”
The petitioner further noted that to pay up what the prophet and his friend were demanding, he had to sell some of his property and take out some loans before he could raise N3,980,000.
The petitioner further said that after prolonged waiting with no result, he became agitated and began to query the prophet’s vision, prompting him to ask for a refund of his money.
However, all efforts to get a refund from the prophet and his friend have been abortive.
Speaking in the statement, the EFCC notes that the suspect would be arraigned in court upon the conclusion of investigations.
