The family of the late Deborah Samuel relocated to Port Harcourt, Rivers State by Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere of the Omega Power Ministries (OPM) has called out for help, revealing that they are not living well.
Chinyere relocated the family from Niger State to Port Harcourt following the killing of Ms Samuel for alleged blasphemy on May 12, 2022 at Shehu Shagari College of Education, Sokoto State where she was schooling.
Chinyere was reported to have given Samuel’s father, Emmanuel, a car and an estate for them to start a new life in Port Harcourt.
However, speaking recently with the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), Emmanuel said, “People think that we are living well but we are not. OPM took us from where we were in Niger State to Port Harcourt City last year. The OPM pastor gave us a mini estate with about 14 self-contained apartments. After that, OPM rented this bedroom flat for us. He said we should be staying here because we are a family and those self-contained apartments cannot be enough for the family. He furnished the apartment with the appliances.”
He added, “From time to time, the OPM leader used to call to check on us. He paid the rent. Right now, the rent for this apartment has expired. The landlord has told us to renew the rent or leave.”
Asked about the source of livelihood provided by the cleric – the car and the estate – Emmanuel said the car was faulty from the day it was handed to him and that he has entered into debt trying to fix it.
He claimed the lawyer who manages the estate has been reluctant to remit funds gathered from rent paid.
But the lawyer Queeneth Okezie refuted the allegation.
“I can just say that everything is fine. The rent received so far has been remitted to him (Emmanuel) and his family and they are alright,” Okezie told FIJ.
Emmanuel’s wife Alheri claimed the church abandoned them.
“Since we’ve been in Port Harcourt, none of OPM’s members cared enough to visit us here. While we were in Niger we were surrounded by loved ones and Christians from different churches,” she said.
This is coming after former security guards popularly called Happie Boys accused Chinyere of abandoning them in Cyprus after being sent on scholarship.
