Judiciary
A civil servant, Victoria Akyenewga, on Wednesday told a Chief Magistrates’ Court in Gwagwalada, FCT, that a cleric, Hosea Bodam, tricked her into giving him N500,000.
Akyenewga made the allegations while testifying during the resumed trial of Bodam, charged with criminal breach of trust and cheating.
Led in evidence by the Prosecution Counsel, Abudulahi Tanko, Akyenewga alleged that sometime in 2016, the defendant a pastor in the church where she fellowship, called her for counselling and prophesied to her that something big was coming her way.
She said the defendant told her that when the money comes she should bring it to the church and not misuse it.
“I have been worshipping in Have faith in God Ministry, with the founder of the church before the defendant joined the church as a pastor.
“In 2016 during his preaching, he asked me to give a woman in the church some money to put in her business.
“I told him I had N500,000, which was a loan I collected for a project I was about to embark on. He asked me to loan him the some money with a promise to pay me back in three months.
”He brain washed me into giving him that money because I don’t know how I could have given him that money,” she said.
During cross-examination, the defendant asked the witness to produce the woman she gave the money to.
The witness, however, said:”my pastor tricked me into giving him the money.
The offences, the police said contravened the provisions of sections 312 and 332 of the Penal Code.
After listening to the testimony, Chief Magistrate, Aliyu Shafa, appointed a counsel, M.B Omioigbo to act as a mediator between the two parties and report back to the court.
He adjourned the case until March 31, for reports of settlement. (NAN)
-Feb, 10, 2021 @ 1:30pm
Tags: 000- witness tells Court Cleric duped me of N500
