Pastor Felix Fadare

Cyriacus Izuekwe

A Magistrate court in Lagos  has fixed 31 May for the trial of Pastor Felix Fadare of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG.

Fadare was  accused of masterminding a  N30m  land fraud in Lekki,  Lagos State western Nigeria.

The Special Fraud Unit of Nigeria Police Force arrested and arraigned him before Igbosere Magistrates’ Court.  Fadare leads the RCCG’s Fullers Field parish in Ajah.

He was  charged  with conspiracy, obtaining under false pretence and stealing under the Criminal Code. He  pleaded not guilty.

The presiding Magistrate, Mrs A. O. Awogboro admitted him on bail in the sum of N5m with two sureties in like sum.

The court also ordered that the sureties must provide evidence of tax payments for three years.  Definite trial will now begin in May.

According to the police, the pastor allegedly connived with one Adeola Ajidahun and others at large to defraud one Kehinde Ola.

They did so under false pretences of selling two plots of land to him in the Lekki Pennisula Re-settlement Scheme in the Eti-Osa Local Government Area, Lagos State.

Ajidahun had been previously arraigned in the court on the same charge. He was granted bail in the sum of N500,000.

The complainant was said to have paid N30m to 88-year-old Ajidahun after he showed him some documents indicating that he acquired the land from the state government.

Trouble started when a family in the area challenged Ola’s ownership of the land. He was said to have petitioned the police, leading to the arrest of the suspects.

Ola was not only the victim of the alleged fraud by the suspects, One Tony Ezeoke also was defrauded to the tune of N10m by the suspects.

During investigation, the police also discovered that the suspects had allegedly swindled many other victims and was using Fadare as estate agent to defraud victims.