Pastor publishes own obituary in Ondo to avoid N3 million debt

A Pastor in Ondo State identified as Paul Oyewole has been arraigned before a Chief Magistrate’s Court in Ondo town for faking his own death to avoid paying N3m he borrowed from a member of his church.

Oyewole was said to have falsely published and posted his obituary on an instant message platform, WhatsApp after he sent a fake bank alert to his creditor, Boyede Emmanuel.

The 43-year-old pastor was arraigned for fraudulently obtaining ₦3m from one Boyede Emmanuel, with the promise to pay back the money within seven days, a promise he failed to fulfill, reports Vanguard on Wednesday.

Police Prosecutor, Akao Moremi, informed the court that the defendant falsely published his obituary on WhatsApp after he had sent a fake bank alert.

He was also said to have “threatened the complainant on phone, with the intent to intimidate him and also conducted himself in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace, by stripping himself naked in front of the house of the complainant.”

He reportedly committed the offence between November 2021 and May 2022.

Oyewole, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges preferred against him.

Police Prosecutor, Sergeant Akao Moremi, said he would call four witnesses to testify in the case.

The defendant’s lawyer Mrs. Queen Arokoyo applied for bail on liberal terms.

Presiding Magistrate, Mrs. Mosunmola Ikujuni, granted the defendant bail to the sum of N1m with two credible sureties each in like sum.

She adjourned the case to February 13 for a hearing.

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