By Nick Ibe, Abuja

The General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, once ordered the refund of billions of naira donated to a church project after the funds were traced to proceeds of crime, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Ola Olukoyede, has revealed.

Olukoyede said Adeboye directed the immediate return of the money within 24 hours after the church was alerted to its illicit source.

This was disclosed early in the morning of Saturday, November 7, while Olukoyede addressed workers of the RCCG during a meeting organised by the church ahead of its annual Holy Ghost Congress.

The Church Times Nigeria reported this development on Saturday, as Adeboye “invited Olukoyede to address the workers on financial propriety and the need for churches to maintain transparent financial records.”

According to the Punch, Olukoyede was quoted on the incident as saying: “A church member had donated billions of naira towards an RCCG project, but investigations later revealed that the money was proceeds of financial crime.

“Adeboye ordered the refund shortly after the church was alerted.”

Olukoyede, the report further said, did not reveal the identity of the donor, the specific RCCG project or the exact amount involved as the proceeds of crime.

Olukoyede, an ordained pastor, has been expressing worry over the increasing number of cases involving church leaders implicated in financial crimes, as well as allegations relating to contracts for church projects, warned “Church workers against accepting suspicious donations and pursuing money through questionable means.”

The EFCC boss recalled a similar case involving “another church allegedly implicated in a Ponzi scheme, saying its leader initially resisted the commission’s intervention but eventually refunded a substantial amount after the EFCC threatened legal action.”

Names and details about the church and the ponzi scheme were also withheld even as he warned that:

“The commission would not spare anyone involved in financial crimes, regardless of their religious position or affiliation.”

He further “cautioned church members against materialism, unhealthy competition and leadership struggles, saying such tendencies could expose religious institutions to financial misconduct.”

He also raised concerns about reports of individuals allegedly bribing their way into leadership positions within the RCCG.

Olukoyede urged pastors to investigate the sources of donations before accepting them, stressing the need to ensure that contributions to church projects were not proceeds of criminal activities.

In his response, Adeboye said the “RCCG would not protect anyone found to be involved in financial wrongdoing,” urging “pastors in the church to maintain clean financial records” and ensure that their activities were free from corruption.

By Nick Ibe, Abuja

Non conclusion of high profile court cases has earned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) the people’s ire against it.

The alleged corruption case against the former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, the anti graft body says, is one of the cases that have drawn the ire of Nigerians against the commission.

Dele Oyewale, spokesman of the EFCC, stated this while fielding questions from journalists at a joint press briefing by the spokesmen of all the security agencies, including military and paramilitary outfits.

The briefing, organised by the Office of National Security Adviser (ONSA) in Abuja, had Public Relations Officers of the Police, EFCC, ICPC, Defence Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force, NAPTIP, NDLEA, DSS, Fire Service and others in attendance.

Throwing light on why some cases were handled swifter than others, Oyewale appealed to Nigerians to show understanding on why some high-profile cases take longer time before being resolved.

The EFCC pleaded that it should not be blamed because it cannot be an accuser and at the same time be the judge in its own case. In Oyedele’s words:

“I think it is important at this forum for us to properly understand the processes and procedures that are involved in the prosecution of cases. The EFCC as an anti-corruption agency is not the judiciary.

“We cannot be the accuser and the judge in our own matter. Our mandate allows us to investigate, to prosecute, to prevent, but our mandate does not allow us to adjudicate.

“You cannot take a matter to court and you come up with a decree and say that this matter should be resolved in two days, in three days.

“It is within the mandate, the responsibility of the judiciary to decide when the matter is resolved or not. So, we go to court like any other party. If a matter is resolved very quickly, very good, we will clap for the judiciary.

“If for one reason or the other there are issues that are delaying the resolution of a matter, the EFCC should not be blamed. You cannot blame us for that. Because you are ascribing an almighty status to the EFCC.

“You arrest somebody, you take him to court and you decide when the case is resolved. No, we don’t have such power.

“So, if a matter, like that of Saleh Mamman, where he got 75 years, was resolved very quickly, maybe because of some processes in the court that made it possible for the matter to be so quickly resolved.

“There are cases, they may be complex, there may be complex cases, you know there are witnesses, there are a lot of issues that are involved in the resolution of cases.

“So, it has nothing to do with the EFCC. We charge our cases to court. Our lawyers are about the best around the world.

“If you check our record, we have about 98% success rate in our prosecution. So you cannot say that maybe we are not diligent enough. No, we are diligent. We have very good lawyers. We do our work very well. We go to court.

“What is the business of the court, should not be blamed on the EFCC. And I want the media to please educate the public, because the issue of Yahaya Bello is always there. They continually harass us about Yahaya Bello.

“And we’ve charged the matter to court, the matter is in two different courts. And we are going to court, we wait for the judiciary to decide the matter.”

The anti-graft agency said it would not make any comment on the issue of electoral spending because the elections were yet to come, but promised to do so at the appropriate time.

By Son Tertsea, Abuja

As tensions grow over a possible boundary dispute between the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and Niger State‎‎, Dakwa residents are accusing a district head appointed by the Esu of Bwari of allegedly harassing and coercing them to abandon their Niger State identity for Abuja against their own will.
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On Saturday, while the residents protested at the palace of His Royal Highness, Malam Muhammadu Auwal Ibrahim, accused the district head, Alhassan Babachukuri, also known as Sarkin Alhassan, of demanding that they change their property allocation documents from Niger State to the FCT.
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‎They said their families had lived in Dakwa for generations maintaining that their properties and allocation documents fell under Tafa Local Government Area of Niger State not FCT.
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‎Daily Trust reports that while speaking at the venue of the protest, the District Head of Zuba, Malam Halilu Abubakar Garba, said the dispute started after the appointment of Babachukuri as the district head of Dakwa.
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‎Garba said the appointment had triggered alleged harassment of residents, including attempts to compel them to identify with Abuja despite their insistence that they belonged to Niger State.
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‎”They have been in Dakwa all this while. Their grandparents and great- grandparents have been there and lived peacefully until the coming of Alhassan Babasukudi, who, the Etsu of Bwari appointed as the district head of Dakwa. That was the beginning of the problem,” he alleged.
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‎He added that the district head had been molesting residents and forcing them to adopt Abuja as their place of identification, despite their property documents bearing Niger State.
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‎”All their allocation papers bear Niger State. He is forcing the people to change their documents to FCT, and they are not willing. They told him they are under Tafa Local Government of Niger State, not the FCT,” Garba said.
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‎The Zuba district head said the latest incident that heightened tensions occurred about one or two weeks ago when Babachukuri allegedly removed Niger State references from signboards in the community.
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‎He accused the district head of painting over signboards bearing the name of Tafa Local Government whenever he came across them.
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‎Garba also alleged that Babachukuri went to the police post in Dakwa and erased the Niger State inscription from its signboard.
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‎He said the alleged action frightened residents, who feared that the situation could escalate and threaten their lives and properties.
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‎”They are worried that if he could do that in the presence of the police without any consequences, their lives and properties might be in danger,” he said.
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‎Garba said the residents therefore approached the traditional ruler to seek intervention and protection before the situation deteriorated further.
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‎He added that he had discussed the matter with his local government chairman, who promised to arrange a meeting involving him, the Chief of Bwari and the area council chairman after a scheduled flag-off ceremony in Kaduna.
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‎According to him, the local government chairman, area commander, police authorities and other security agencies were already aware of the situation.
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‎The district head said the residents remained apprehensive because they did not know what might happen next.
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‎”They want the people to live peacefully. Even if the area does not fall under the authority they are claiming, the government should intervene and resolve the situation. All the residents want is to live in peace without harassment,” he said.
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‎Garba warned that the situation could result in loss of lives if the authorities failed to intervene, adding that the community had video recordings and other evidence to support its allegations.
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‎He said the residents were ready to present the materials to relevant authorities to substantiate their claims.
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‎According to Daily Trust, the accused district head, Sarkin Alhassan Babachukuri, denied the allegations, saying he was unaware of any protest and had no intention of transferring Dakwa and Dei communities from Niger State to the FCT. In his words:
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‎”No, no, there is nothing like that.”
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‎When pressed further to speak on the allegations, he declined to comment.