EFCC Apprehends Spiritual Leader for Alleged Misappropriation of N1.3bn Bogus Grants

EFCC Apprehends Spiritual Leader for Alleged Misappropriation of N1.3bn Bogus Grants and Money Laundering

“The culmination of our investigation will lead to his arraignment in court.”

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has apprehended Apostle Theophilus Oloche Ebonyi, a spiritual leader, for purportedly deceiving congregants and others through fraudulent grants purportedly from the Ford Foundation, totaling N1,319,040,274.31. The EFCC confirmed this development in a statement released on Monday.

According to the EFCC, the General Overseer of Faith On The Rock Ministry International purportedly defrauded individuals by publicizing an intervention initiative via his non-governmental organization (Theobarth Global Foundation), falsely asserting that the Ford Foundation was providing a $20,000,000.000 grant to aid the underprivileged in society.

“He purportedly enticed his victims to enroll as beneficiaries of the fictitious grant by soliciting payments for registration forms and clusters. Each participant was required to remit N1,800,000 (One Million, Eight Hundred Thousand Naira only). Through this scheme, Ebonyi purportedly amassed N1,391,040,274.31. His victims include innocent and unsuspecting Nigerian citizens and NGOs nationwide,” stated the EFCC.

The EFCC’s investigation revealed that there was no affiliation, grant, partnership, or transaction between Ebonyi and the Ford Foundation. The Foundation explicitly disassociated itself from Ebonyi and his NGO, emphasizing that it had no association whatsoever with them. Additionally, the Commission has identified five properties allegedly acquired by Ebonyi through illicit means.

“Ebonyi is purportedly still contacting his victims through various social media platforms to promote his fraudulent grant from the Ford Foundation. He will be prosecuted once our investigation is concluded,” the EFCC concluded.