In 2011, Adeola Ogunaike (not real name) and other Abuja residents picked interest in an advertisement for affordable plots of land in the city. The vendor was Foursquare Gospel Church, Garki, Abuja.

Adeola and about 20 other people she knew became customers, and she personally bought two plots — at least on paper.

“They told us they secured land from the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) to build an estate, and they were allocating some to members of the public for a fee,” she told FIJ. “Being a church, we trusted they were genuine.

“I paid ₦500,000 for the first plot, and ₦700,000 for the second plot. My friend also paid for some plots, but ever since then, it has been an excuse after another.”

Twelve years after Adeola paid for her plots, she still is yet to get allocations. All she has are receipts, a site plan and many messages between her and one of the church’s pastors.

In 2017, Mcpherson Housing Estate, acting on behalf of the church, sent Adeola two site plans showing the plots of land she paid for, and assuring her she was going to get her property.

This assurance never materialised into physical property, and the company wrote to her again in 2021. This letter, titled ‘Allocation Letter’, communicated to her that her land was to be reallocated and she was getting one in Mcpherson Estate, Katampe II, Abuja.

Two years after this letter, she still does not have her land.

Desmond Abdullahi (not real name), another Abuja resident who also paid for plots in 2011 told FIJ that he and about 80 others paid but despite meeting a senior pastor on several occasions, they never got allocations.

“We have met with the then senior pastor to discuss the delays in allocating plots to the subscribers, and he made so many promises with no result,” Desmond told FIJ. “He also tried to pass new plots to us, but we quickly found out that the documents for the land were fake.

“The church and the senior pastor have not been sincere throughout the whole experience, and I believe they know at some point that there is no land to allocate to the subscribers.”

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The senior pastor they were communicating with at the time was Isaac Komolafe, the Foursquare Northern Regional Overseer in Abuja. The church was in the Mpape area of the country’s capital city.

When FIJ called Komolafe, he told our reporter he had retired and was no longer in charge of the allocations. He gave us the phone number of Ken Ugbomah, a lawyer Komolafe said he had introduced them to.

FIJ called Ugbomah, but he denied being in charge. He said he was not the right person to speak with and asked that we speak with Komolafe again. This time, Komolafe did not take our calls and did not reply our messages

On May 5, 2023, the church issued a public notice distancing itself from the housing scheme.

On Monday, FIJ called Michael Azuonwu, a pastor and staff of Mcpherson Estate. Azuonwu told FIJ that the church had its land seized by the FCDA, and this was what stalled allocations.

“We have won back our land, and allocation is ongoing. You can ask the beneficiaries to go to the church in Mpape. They will get their allocation,” Azuonwu told FIJ.

Adeola said Azuonwu’s statement was just a repetition of what the church had been telling them since 2011. She said she had heard the same story for 12 years but it only came when she asked.

She added that the church does not reach out to them and always waits until they threaten legal action before sending a letter or issuing a statement.