Pastor arrested for N58m Scam in Lagos

On Monday, the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos remanded a Pastor ,Chris Anyalebechi in prison over an alleged N58 million fraud.

Nationonline reports that the accused, Pastor Anyalebechi was arraigned before the honourable Justice Babs Kuewumi by the Police Special Fraud Unit, on a two-count charge of conspiracy and obtaining money under false pretence.

The said crime was allegedly committed between April 2014 and March 2015, when Anyalebechi, who is the General Overseer of Christ Glory International Gospel Center, Ikorodu, Lagos, conspired with others now at large to obtain the money from one Nestor Nwankwo of Zicozeen Nigeria Limited.

His pitch, according to the police, was a promise to buy a used ship for the company and sell it in parts or scraps on its behalf.

The charge, which has brought this storm on the clergyman,  reads:

“That you, Pastor Chris Anyalebechi, General Overseer, Christ Glory International Gospel Center, Ikorodu, Lagos, sometimes between April 2014 and March 2015, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court, by false pretence and with intent to defraud, obtained the sum of N85 million from a company known as Nestor Nwankwo of Zicozeen Nigeria Limited, by representing to the company that you will purchase for the company a used ship or vessel and sell same in parts or scraps on behalf of the company, a representation you knew to be false.”

The temptation the pastor allegedly fell for contravenes Section 1(1) (a) (3) of the Advance Fee Fraud and other Fraud Related Offences, Act, 2006.

Though he pleaded not guilty to the charges, Justice Kuewumi ordered that the suspected be remanded in prison after a plea to that effect from Prosecution counsel, Effiong Asuquo.