A pastor with Living Faith Church, aka Winners Chapel, Temidayo Eseyin, has allegedly defrauded Landmark University, Omu-Aran, Kwara State, to the tune of N19.3 million.
The Winners Pastor was arraigned on Wednesday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before a High Court in Illorin, the Kwara State capital.
Eseyin, who is a lawyer as well as a former member of the Disciplinary Committee of the Nigerian Bar Association, Ilorin Branch, was charged with a four-count charge bordering on dishonest misappropriation of funds before Justice Funsho Lawal.
Eseyin is said to have handled several properties for the institution while serving as a counsel/attorney, among which includes properties, title documents and funds.
Landmark University in a petition to he EFCC, alleged that Eseyin was “cheating, defrauding, misappropriating and shortchanging his client to her utmost dismay”.
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Eseyin between 2014 and 2022 managed a property known as “Old Midland Building” belonging to Landmark University, situated along Emir’s/Obbo Road, Ilorin, and collected 8 years rents without account to his clients.
The clergyman is also accused of attempting to sell the same property without approval from the university.
Count three of the charge reads, “That you, Temidayo Eseyin sometime in the year 2021, in Ilorin Kwara State, within the jurisdiction of this Honorable Court dishonestly misappropriated the sum of Six Million, Sixty Four Thousand Naira Only (6, 064,000) representing payment of rent on property known as Old Midland Building belonging to Landmark University and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 308 of the Penal Code Law and Punishable under Section 309 of the same Law.”
Counsel to the anti-graft agency, Rashidat Alao, after his pea, sought the court to fix a date for trial, and as well prayed the court to remand the defendant in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Centre pending trial.
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In his ruling, Justice Lawal admitted the defendant to bail in the sum of N10 million with two sureties in the sum of N5 million each.
The judge ordered that the sureties must have landed property within the jurisdiction of the court.
The judge also ordered for the defendant to be remanded in EFCC custody pending the fulfilment of his bail conditions.
