4th May, 2011
Pastor Ifeanyi Okoli of God’s Covenant Ministry who was arrested with his wife, Ngozi  has told the police in Lagos that the widow, Theresa Onuorah, who claimed that she was duped actually sowed seed offerings in the church with her late husband’s property for her deliverance.
Pastor Okoli and his wife, Ngozi were paraded by the police for allegedly duping Theresa to the tune of N20million through false prophecy.
The victim claimed that one of her friends introduced her to the pastor whose wife was also a prophet in their church located at 3, Brethren Avenue, Ejigbo, Lagos State, Southwest Nigeria.
She said that they prophesied to her that her late husband who died 15 years ago belonged to a cult and wants to kill her and her children.
They told her that the only solution for her and her children to be alive was to bring all her late husband’s property to the church.
“The pastor poured oil on my body and since then whatever they asked me to do, I will not argue with them,’’ she lamented.
The mother of four said that she hired a lorry and packed all their belongings in their three-bedroom flat and took them to the church.
The items she took to the church include Mercedes Benz car, three refrigerators, four electrical fans and a set of dining table.
Others include a set of chairs, matrimonial bed and her children’s beds.
She also took all her clothes and those of her children, brooms, curtains, carpets and kitchen utensils to the church.
She said immediately she brought those items to the church the pastor and his family started using them while she and her children have been sleeping on bare floor for two years now.
She said that they warned her not to tell anyone about it.
The matter was blown open when they asked her to sell her husband’s land and pay the money into the pastor’s account.
She said that she sold the land for N2 million and they were piling pressure on her to pay the money into the pastor’s account or face negative consequences.
She said told her friend what she was passing through, and the friend assisted her to report the matter to the police.
The pastor and his wife were arrested and some of the items were recovered. The items recovered so far include the Mercedes Benz car, chairs, refrigerators, among others while others have not been found.
It was at the police station that Pastor Okoli claimed that the victim sowed seed offerings for her to get healing.
Meanwhile, a police source said that the matter will be charged to court soon.
—Cyriacus Izuekwe