Kemi James, an Ogun State resident, has accused Olufemi Olanrewaju, an Egypt-based Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) cleric, of holding on to her N245,000 since 2016.

James told FIJ that she gave the cleric the money in December 2016 before she left Cairo for Nigeria.

According to Kemi, the Celestial cleric was supposed to transfer the money to her mother in Nigeria, but he did not.

“We were both living in Cairo then. I could not send money directly from my phone or get to the bank, so he was one of the middlemen who helped us send money home after receiving his commission,” said James (Kemi).

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Kemi said she trusted Olanrewaju because he had been helping her send money to Nigeria three years prior to the incident.

“I even linked him up with a friend who sent N220,000 to him. Till today, that friend’s money has not been delivered,” she said.

“After I left Cairo on January 13, 2017, I told him I had not received my N270,000. He said he had transferred it, but I did not see any money.

“Olanrewaju later told me that he was set up when he took the money to the bank. He said someone set him up and they took money worth N4 million from him. He said he would pay,” Kemi disclosed further.

Kemi also told FIJ that sometime in 2021, Olanrewaju sent her N25,000 out of the N270,000.

She said she had been calling and begging the Celestial church cleric to pay the remaining money but he kept telling her to exercise more patience.

“To be honest, I heard that he had a problem in Cairo, so I was calm with him at first. I was even praying for him because he would pay my money if he was fine. But it seems he doesn’t want to pay with the way he’s even acting.

“He sent me a voice note on January 1, 2023. Before this time, he had been ignoring my calls, chats and messages. He said even if it was 10 or 20 years, he would still pay me.”

Kemi revealed that she had told him several times that he could pay the money by sending at least N20,000 every month, but all she got were excuses.

‘TELL HER TO BE PATIENT’ — CELESTIAL CHURCH CLERGY

When FIJ contacted Olanrewaju for comments on the issue, he did not deny the allegation.

However, he said he had been suffering from a spiritual problem and had been jobless since 2008.

Although he did not reveal the kind of spiritual problem he was suffering from, he said he would pay the money no matter how long it took.

“I am truly owing her, but I don’t have much now. Just help me beg her. She knows that I have a spiritual problem, and I lost my wife. My three children have been at home without going to school for three years now. She should please hold on for me because things are not smooth at all,” he said.

When asked why he failed to send the money in 2016, he said, “I did not spend any dime from the money. It’s just that immediately the money got to Nigeria, the person that received the money did not release it. That was what finally ruined me.

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In response to FIJ’s request for a timeframe for the payment, the Celestial church cleric said, “Please don’t let me be specific because I don’t want to fuck up again. If I say in two or three months time and if I don’t meet up, you may think I am lying.

“My major problem is that I have to pay church and house rents here every month, but I believe in God that everything will be fine very soon and I will settle her.”