The police in Bayelsa State, on Wednesday, arraigned a pastor before a magistrate in Yenagoa for allegedly obtaining an SUV under false pretence from a churchgoer.

Kingsley Abiekunogho, said to be an apostle and founder of God Is Able Mega Fire Ministry, at Opolo, Yenagoa, is accused of tricking one Jones Seiyefa to hand over to him, a Toyota SUV and N20, 000 in exchange for “spiritual breakthrough”.

During a church programme at God Is Able Mega Fire Ministry, in September 2017, a visiting pastor was said to have called out Mr. Seiyefa from the congregation and prodded him to donate his car and the money to the accused, with the assurance that God had wonderful gift for him.

Mr. Seiyefa, who is the complainant in the case, was told by the pastor that within a month God was going to double the car and money collected from him.

He was subsequently invited to the church on a later day where he was made to drink a “special” honey to quicken the expected “breakthrough”.

Several days after, instead of things improving, life became more difficult for Mr. Seiyefa who then demanded his car back. But the pastor refused.

A relative of Mr. Seiyefa said he initially pledged to give only N20,000 to the church because that was all he had left in his bank account, but the pastor allegedly told him it was too small for a man of his status.

The relative said she tried to stop him from transferring the ownership of the car to the pastor but he refused.

“By the grace of God, days after he did the change of ownership he came back to his senses and revealed that he did all he did because he was under some kind of influence,” she said.

The police prosecutor in the case, I. Amakiri, read out a three-count charge against the pastor who pleaded not guilty.

The magistrate, Eke Spiff, granted the pastor bail and asked him to produce the guest pastor in court during the next hearing.

The case was adjourned to April 4, 2018.

PT