A Lagos State High court on Wednesday sentenced popular prophet and Sheperd-in-charge of CCC Global Genesis church, Prophet Israel Oladele Ogundipe, to two-year imprisonment for defrauding a U.K- based woman.
Justice Olabisi Akinlade sentenced the defendant to a year imprisonments for count two and four. She however discharged him of counts 1,3, 5 ,6 and 7 for lack of evidence.
Oladele was charged with seven counts charges bordering on fraud and obtaining money by false pretenses, preferred against him by the Lagos State government.
He was said to have defrauded one Mrs Olaide William Oni to the tune of N17m which she gave him to procure some landed properties on her behalf because she thought he was a good pastor.
She said she first met the accused person in 2002 during her visit to Nigeria, when she was taken to his church for prayers by her step-sister.
She said: “He told me something about my husband in one of his prophecies, that I should not have anything jointly with him because he was having an affair behind my back.
He gave me a liquid to drink and I started vomiting. I was asked to sit down and he lighted a candle and said I should be there until the candle goes off.”
According to her, he allegedly took her in company of her step-sister and cousin to a bush in Sango Ota area of Ogun State, where she was allegedly bathed with some concoctions near a river.
She said her misfortune started when she returned to London, the prophet asked her to invest in landed property in Lagos, which she agreed. This she did after consultations with some persons.
She allegedly sent N17 million in five tranches of N900,000, N2.5 million, N8.5 million, N2.7 million and £12,000 between 2002 and 2005 to purchase the property on her behalf, which turned out to be a fraud.
She said, “When I confronted him about this, he started threatening my life and blackmailing me.”