Oladipupo Ogunbukola, a Nigerian medical professional in Saudi Arabia, has accused Oluwasesan Ojo, a former pastor of the Redeemed Church in Oyo State, of defrauding her of N5 million and a group of her friends of N46 million.
The medical professional told FIJ that she had done all that she could do to get her money back but Ojo kept conspiring with various security agencies to break her against the law.
Narrating how it all happened, Ogunbukola said that she first met Ojo in April 2022 at a hospital in Ibadan, where he approached her and introduced himself as an employee of AIICO Insurance PLC, Lagos branch.
She said he advised her to invest with the firm by subscribing to the Deferred Annuity Insurance Package with N5 million, assuring her that apart from the company being credible, he could not misuse his pastoral authority by getting her to invest in a bad business.
On the strength of the trust Ogunbukola had in Ojo as a pastor, she took some loans and sent him N5 million in six tranches between May 15 and August 15, 2022, as payment for the package.
She said that after the payment, she kept demanding for the evidence and certificate of the insurance package but Ojo kept telling her the firm had not released a stamped copy of the certificate until she found that he did not pay any amount on her behalf and had spent the money.
“Everything seemed real to me because after I sent him my first payment, he came with a 32 inches AICCO branded television to my house. This got me convinced, but everything was all a lie,” Ogunbukola told FIJ.
Along the line of their dealings, Ogunbukola said, Ojo also paraded himself as a trusted and registered travel agent who could assist anyone get into the United States, Canada, Australia and the Republic of Ireland.
Thinking Ojo’s claim was genuine, Ogunbukola began to inform friends and acquaintances to take advantage of what he had presented. Little did she know this harmless decision would change her public image.
She said she began to convince people after she had become convinced to key into Ojo’s visa programme but did not know what she was getting into.
According to her, after her referrals had contributed N46.7 million, Ojo organised a fake biomterics on May 18, 2022.
“The day after Ojo organised the fake biometrics, he deleted all his social media handles. I searched for him but could not find him. I then went to the Ojongbodu Police Station to report him. A client he defrauded put a poster out and branded him a thief and that got him out of his hiding place,” Ogunbukola said.
“He was detained at the Eleyele Police Headquarters on May 23 and taken to court on June 30. He was remanded in prison and was to remain there until August 30, but he bribed his way out before the next case.
“Ojo has said many things to absolve himself of any responsibility. He even tried guilt-tripping me because his father died while he was still in prison for his misdeeds. People were now trying to guilt trip me because his dad died while he was in prison.
“Ojo, who blamed the devil for his actions told my brother he would pay, but to date, he’s nowhere to be found. I have called him and his wife, but they no longer respond. The Redeemed Church he used to oversee sacked him for his attitude. He’s walking free while my reputation is in ruins.”
FIJ called Ojo and wife on October 27 but they did not respond. The couple had also not responded to the text messages sent to their phones at press time.