The General Overseer, Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry, Prophet Emmanuel Omale, has sued the First City Monument Bank (FCMB) Plc for N5bn.
Omale, who claims to be the spiritual guide of the suspended acting Chairman of the EFCC, Magu, said FCMB falsely reported to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit that N570m was paid into his church account, thereby leading to accusations that the money was used in purchasing a house in Dubai for Magu.
The suit, marked FCT/HC/CV/2020, was instituted by Omale, his wife, Deborah Omale, and the church, the Incorporated Trustees of the Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry.
The claimant stated that in 2016, the FCMB falsely reported to the NFIU that N570m was paid into the church’s bank account marked 1486743019 which caused security agents to put the account under surveillance for four years.
The statement of claim read in part, “Sometime on or about the 6th day of July 2020, the former acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr Ibrahim Magu, was arrested and summoned to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to appear before the Presidential Investigation Committee on the Alleged Mismanagement of the EFCC, Federal Government Recovered Assets and Finances from May 2015 to May 2020.
“That is one of the key allegations levelled at the Presidential Investigation Committee against Mr Ibrahim Magu, was that the 2nd claimant (Prophet Omale) fraudulently and corruptly purchased a real estate property for Mr Ibrahim Magu in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, with the said sum of N573,228,040 allegedly credited as an inflow into the 1st claimant’s (church’s) Corporate Current Account No: 1486743019 in the year 2016.”
The claimant stated that due to the investigation and negative media reports, they were exposed to public hatred, injury and contempt in their religious calling.
The cleric said on August 6, 2020, he and his wife were summoned to appear on August 10, 2020 before the said Presidential Investigation Committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
Omale and his wife, accompanied by their lead senior counsel, Chief Gordy Uche (SAN), and a team of four senior lawyers, appeared before the panel on August 10, 11 and 12 and were grilled for hours on their alleged roles in respect of the sum of N573m used in fraudulently and corruptly purchasing a real estate property for Magu in Dubai.
The cleric said they paid Uche (SAN) & Co the sum of N15m to appear and represent them for three days before the said Presidential Investigation Committee and attached a copy of the receipt to the statement of claim.
He said they all denied the allegations of fraud, adding that he never bought any property for Magu when grilled by the panel.
He said in all, he had lost N180.5m due to payment of legal fees and personal losses.
Meanwhile, the panel led by Salami has grilled a Kaduna-based bureau de change operator, Ahmed Shanono, who was accused of running 158 accounts and receiving huge sums of funds on behalf of Magu.
A lawyer to Magu, Tosin Ojaomo, said Shanono was indeed grilled by the panel but stated that he didn’t even know Magu.
“It is true. The bureau de change operator was grilled by the panel and he told them that he didn’t even know Magu. You know the allegation was that it was this bureau de change man that was used to convert the N570m that Prophet Omale used in buying a house for Magu in Dubai.
“But everything has turned out to be a lie. Of all the people that have testified against Magu, none has accused him of collecting a bribe,” Ojaomo said.
