Prophet Marcus Tibetan of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) has denied collecting N65 million from a real estate investor David Timileyin.
Tibetan is alleged to have promised Mr Timileyin, a member of his church, plots of land near the Dangote refinery in Lagos.
Timilehin said that in 2022 Tibetan informed him of the availability of two hectares of land (30 plots) supposedly in Ketu, Epe belonging to Omolara Akintonde, another church member and former wife of governor of Ogun, reports TheCable.
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, telling him that there was no need for a lawyer.
Timilehin said he paid the N65.5 million cost of the land to the prophet to be transferred to Akintonde. But a year after, he has not been allocated the land; neither did he receive a receipt of payment nor any documentation of the land.
Bank statements presented by Timilehin showed he sent about N63 million in instalments to the prophet from February to March 2022, the news platform 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,” Timilehin said.
He added that he visited the land without Tibetan’s knowledge and discovered that it was not what was described to him by the prophet.
“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,” he said.
Timilehin contracted a lawyer Ayo Durojaiye who wrote to Akintonde, asking for a refund.
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.
But 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,” he 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.”
Akintonde could not be reached for comments.
