Marcus Tibetan, a popular Lagos prophet of a white garment
church, has been accused of a N65 million land scam by his church member, David
Timileyin, whom he allegedly promised land near the recently inaugurated
Dangote refinery in the state.
According to Timilehin, a real estate businessman, his
relationship with Tibetan was that of a father and son as he had taken the
prophet as a spiritual guide.
Timilehin said, in 2022, Tibetan informed him of the
availability of two hectares of land (30 plots) supposedly in Ketu, Epe area of
the state, belonging to Omolara Akintonde, another church member and former
first lady of Ogun state. The value of the land was put at N2 million per plot
and some additional costs, which put the total money at N65.5 million.
After he showed interest in the land, Timilehin said Tibetan offered himself as a go-between for the transaction. He said he told the prophet that he would need to get a lawyer to help seal the deal given the huge amount involved, but the prophet told him he would not need a lawyer since he is the one involved.
Timilehin said he paid the N65.5 million cost of the land to
the prophet to be transferred to Akintonde. But a year after, Timilehin has not
been allocated the land; neither did he receive a receipt of payment nor any
documentation of the land. Instead, he has been involved in a back-and-forth
conversation with the prophet and Akintonde.
“There are indications that Tibetan and Akintonde have
connived to deny me my hard-earned money,” Timilehin said.
“He has not denied collecting money from me. The transaction
evidence is there in the audio. On the other hand, Akintonde has also not
denied collecting money from Prophet Tibetan.”
The situation, however, got messier when Timilehin visited
the land without Tibetan’s knowledge and discovered that it was not what was
described to him by the prophet.
“The prophet told me the 30 plots of land were close to the
Dangote refinery. But I have since discovered that the land is in the forest of
Epe. It is largely an uncultivated land in the remote areas of Epe which can’t
sell for more than N1 million per plot,” Timilehin said.
“The prophet was furious when he got to know I went to check
the land. It was like I had done something evil. That was after I had paid. I
wonder why he was so annoyed that I went to check the land I paid for. It was
when I saw the land that I discovered it was not the land they told me about.”
“Later, the woman said the earlier price of N2 million per
plot was a mistake, that the land actually cost N5 million per plot. So, for
the 30 plots of land, I may have to pay N150 million. It was at this point I
said I’m no longer interested in the land and they should refund me. The woman
has blocked me from her phone.
“Before she blocked
my number, she asked me to go and meet the prophet since it was the prophet who
collected money from me. I had to use a friend’s phone to reach her to put
further pressure on her to return my money.
“At a point, the prophet told me even if the woman agrees to
refund the fund, what if she dies in the process, what would I do? He had also
made several insinuations about an impending doom. He told me one time that
there are people who build mansions and never lived in them. When he was trying
to discourage me from getting a lawyer, he asked if I have heard of cases of
lawyers being killed or kidnapped.”
In a letter to Akintonde, Ayo Durojaiye, Timilehin’s lawyer
asked for a refund, saying the land deal “is tainted with fraud”.
The lawyer said his client also discovered that the land was
allocated to Akintonde by the Lagos state government for purely commercial
purposes and not for residential buildings. According to Durojaiye, the land
was supposed to be for a petroleum refinery.
In a phone call with TheCable, Tibetan denied receiving
money from Timilehin.
“I’m not dodging; I’m not running and I’m not a small boy in
Nigeria. I also met Timilehin through the Internet. I didn’t know Akintonde.
She happens to be a member of Celestial Church and I’m a shepherd in the
church,” Tibetan said.
“She told me she had land to sell, a gigantic land given to
her by Lagos state. I’ve helped a lot of people abroad to buy land through the
woman. I don’t collect commissions. They brought the land documents to my house
and Timilehin came from Abuja and signed it. Then, I told Timilehin and the
woman that my job of connecting them is done and I’m no longer involved in the deal.
I didn’t collect a commission from the woman and Timilehin. He should go and
meet the woman to refund his money. I didn’t collect any money from Timilehin.”
However, bank statements presented by Timilehin showed he
sent about N63 million in instalments to the prophet from February to March
2022.
Several calls and messages to Akintonde’s phone number
seeking her side of the story were neither picked up nor acknowledged.
Meanwhile, in a voice note, Akintonde said all enquiries
should be directed to the prophet to whom Timilehin paid the money.
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