A Gambian pastor has been sought after reportedly stealing 52 phones and other things from congregants at his crusade in Ibadan, Oyo state.
According to reports, on the final day of the event, the pastor, Dr Owen Abraham, told the congregation that the Holy Spirit had led him to tell them to hand in their phones.
The individual was nowhere to be found after the crusade, and all attempts to contact the clergyman generated no pertinent results.
One victim, Mrs Grace Akintola who spoke with Vanguard stated that the clergyman had lured many a widow with a promise to give out bags of rice and cash; promising also to empower students with scholarships.
Mrs. Akintola said:
“The pastor approached an Igbo lady in our area to assist him to gather widows and students, saying he wanted to help us.
“Someone in my area invited me for the crusade. He wore pastor regalia. He said he will buy a house for one of us and that the house will be fully furnished.
“He promised some people that attended the crusade money. Even politicians cannot give out such amounts he promised.
“On the last day of the crusade, he sold a bottle of water for us at the rate of N4,800. He said perfume is inside the bottle water. Many people paid for the water.”
Another victim added:
“He said no phone should ring, that was why he collected all the phones. In fact, a lady stood up and wanted to take his photographs but he seized the phone from her.
“On the last day of the crusade, he said he wanted to go and rest at the hotel where he lodged. He later said he wanted to go and eat at UI; we don’t know how he escaped with our belongings.
As a man of God, we respected him a lot, we didn’t know that he wanted to use the name of God to dupe us”