Nelson Foni, a 55-year-old-cleric, has been arraigned before a Magistrates’ Court sitting in Kafanchan, Kaduna State for allegedly giving fake prophesy and duping a member of his church, Edith Emmanuel, of the sum of N1.7 million.
Foni is facing a three-count-charge of extortion, criminal breach of trust and cheating, punishable under the Kaduna State Penal Code Law, 2017.
State counsel, Alheri Daudu, told the court that Emmanuel and her daughter attended a church programme at Gethsemane Prayer Ministry, Kafanchan, in 2016 where Foni was the General Overseer.
Foni singled out the congregant’s daughter, declaring that God revealed to him that she would study abroad instead of Nigeria.
The cleric asked the congregant to invite her husband to the ministry where he repeated the ‘revelation.’
Despite telling Foni that they lacked the resources to fund overseas study, he urged them to raise N1.7m so that he could invest it in crypto-currency on their behalf to be able to fund the girl’s education.
He convinced the couple that the return on crypto currency would be sufficient to cover their daughter’s school fees and flight ticket.
Contrary to the assurance that he gave them earlier, however, he later told them that the investment had yet to mature, hence, the matter was reported at the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps, Kafanchan following which he was charged to court.
Foni pleaded not guilty in court.
His defence counsel, Amba Adze, applied for bail on his behalf, but the state counsel objected on the ground that if granted, Foni might jump bail.
Magistrate Michael Bawa granted the defendant bail in the sum of N1million with a surety in like sum.
Bawa ruled that the surety must be a village head whose bank’s statement must be made available failing which Foni would be remanded at the Kafanchan Correctional Centre pending the next hearing on April 11.
(NAN).
