Old Man Narrates How Popular Pastor Duped Him and Others of N178m
- A retired civil servant narrates in court how a bishop and his associate defrauded him and others of N178 million through a fake cooperative
- The witness says he was convinced to invest after watching Bishop Katung’s televised sermon promoting Fadama Multi-purpose Cooperative Society
- Despite promises of repayment and property sales, investors were never refunded, leading the EFCC to take over the investigation
A 68-year-old retired civil servant, Fasaki Olutayo Jacob, on Thursday, October 16, narrated before the Federal High Court in Jos, Plateau state, how he lost his life savings to Bishop Katung Jonas and one Okewole Dayo, who allegedly defrauded several investors of N178,885,000 through a fake cooperative scheme.
Source: Twitter
EFCC posted on their official X account (formerly Twitter) that Jacob, who appeared as the second prosecution witness (PW2), told Justice Sharon Ishaya that he was deceived into investing in Fadama Multi-purpose Cooperative Society after watching Bishop Katung deliver what he described as a “spiritually convincing” sermon on Plateau Radio and Television (PRTV).
Fake investment disguised as faith-based scheme
According to the Guardian, the witness said the message he heard on television made him believe that the cooperative was a genuine faith-driven investment platform. He later visited the bishop’s church, Maranata, at No. 10 Miyangu Street in Jos, where he was encouraged to invest his retirement funds.
Jacob told the court that after meeting the bishop, he was directed to the cooperative’s secretariat where he met the first defendant, Dayo. He said Dayo instructed him to pay through Dadin Kowa Microfinance Bank, after which he deposited N1 million and later added N200,000, bringing his total investment to N1.2 million.
He said investors were promised a 10 percent monthly return and were issued record cards to monitor their interests. Payments, however, stopped in 2012, forcing investors to demand answers.
Source: Facebook
Police, EFCC wade in as investors protest
Jacob recalled that Dayo later convened a meeting at Lamide Hotel in Jos to calm angry investors and asked for patience. He said Bishop Katung also appeared on television again to assure investors that payment would resume the following week, but no refund was ever made.
The witness said that when frustration grew, investors stormed the cooperative’s office to demand their money, forcing police intervention.
He added that when the police failed to resolve the crisis, the matter was referred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which opened an investigation and invited the defendants for questioning.
Jacob said the bishop later claimed that the cooperative owned landed property and even gave investors a copy of a property document, promising that proceeds from its sale would be used to pay them. “When the property was eventually sold, we didn’t get any money,” he said.
The prosecution tendered the witness’s payment receipt, which the court admitted as Exhibit F. Under cross-examination, Jacob confirmed making his statement to the EFCC in 2012 and stood by its contents.
Justice Ishaya adjourned the case to December 10 and 11, 2025, for continuation of trial.
US sends Nigerian Yahoo boy to prison
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that a United States federal court had sentenced a 37-year-old Nigerian, Adetomiwa Seun Akindele, to five years and eleven months in prison for defrauding an elderly American woman of $1.6 million in a romance scam.
He will be deported to Nigeria after completing his sentence.
Source: Legit.ng
