General Overseer of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) Daniel Olukoya has denied involvement in any fraudulent activities with regards to the church’s branch in the United Kingdom.
It was reported during the week that the UK Charity Commission in August 2019 appointed an interim manager for MFM over concerns about the church’s operations.
The intervention is similar to a law causing tension in Nigeria-based churches which allows the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to appoint interim managers for religious bodies.
In a statement on Saturday by his media aide Collins Edomaruse, Olukoya said several allegations laid against him and the MFM were without foundation, but intent to damage his reputation and destroy the global image of the church.
The MFM leader accused an online news platform Sahara Reporters of sponsoring seven allegations against him.
On allegation that Olukoya claimed residence of US city of Maryland, the statement said: “Nothing can be further from the truth. Dr. Olukoya is a public figure nationally and internationally. His domicile is therefore a fact of public knowledge. The true position is that the Pastor who wanted to register MFM in Maryland inserted Dr. Olukoya’s name without prior consultation with or knowledge of the G.O because he believed that Dr. Olukoya should be involved but after he consulted a lawyer and received advice that a person’s name cannot be on the incorporation documents unless he is resident in Maryland, that registration was put in abeyance and allowed to lapse. The Pastor is still alive and all the evidence are there for all to see at the Company Registry in Maryland.”
Olukoya also denied illegally importing books into the US and evading payment of Customs duties on those books.
“This false allegation was pioneered by a former Pastor of MFM who tried to steal MFM Branch in Maryland. He conceived this lie as his defence to a civil Suit the Church brought against him in the County Court in Maryland,” the statement said.
Olukoya further said the trustees of the UK church were never suspended by the interim manager and were never indicted of fraud.
The cleric also said he did not connive with anyone to steal £150,000
He said: “This is a complete fabrication from the fevered minds of the defamers. Fortunately, all the people that took money illegally are still alive. The genesis of this allegation is that the lease of one of our branches in London contained a clause which stipulated that any party who broke the Lease for any reason before its expiration would pay a penalty of 150,000 British Pounds to the other party. It happened that the owner of the property broke the lease and sold the property to a third party which necessitated the Church relocating from the building.
“The property owners honoured their obligation and paid the penalty sum of 150,000 pound which the Pastor of that branch somehow found a way of paying it into his personal account without informing the Headquarters and conspired with the external auditors to shield that income from discovery. It was much later that a member of that branch brought to the attention of Headquarters that such amount of money had been received by the Pastor.
“Headquarters immediately set up a panel to investigate the incident and give fair hearing to the Pastor concerned. He attended the sitting of the panel and unequivocally admitted the theft. The Panel directed him to refund the money immediately. Upon receipt of the report of the Panel, the General Overseer issued the Pastor an ultimatum in writing to pay back the money within forty-eight (48) hours whereupon he promised to re-mortgage his house in London to comply. It was later brought to the attention of Dr. Olukoya that this ultimatum had not been complied with by the Pastor who, on his own, began to repay the money by instalments.”
Olukoya said the allegation that he and the church were land grabbers and were set to lose the MFM Prayer City land were false, saying he has proof of ownership.
He also denied having the publisher of Sahara Reporters Omoyele Sowore and his crew beaten up in December 2012.
According to him, Mr Sowore wanted special treatment and refused to stay in an area reserved for the press, ultimately resulting in the publisher leaving a gathering of the church of his own will.
