A Magistrates court in Ogba, Nigeria’s Lagos state on Tuesday sentenced a senior pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God to 18 months imprisonment after he was found guilty of stealing the sum of N9m from his tenant, Dr. Emeka Ugwunze, Yabaleftonline.ng reported.

According to reports, Dr. Emeka Ugwunze was a tenant in a two-storey building at Gbagada belonging to the convict, Pastor Jamiu Ishola Kolawole.

However, he approached the complainant in 2016 and demanded some money from him, claiming he wanted to sell the house to him because the tenant had been of help to him in the past.

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The house in contention was reportedly negotiated at N20m, but the complainant paid an amount of N9m to the man of God with a promise to pay the balance later.

Pastor Jamiu Ishola Kolawole gained the trust of the complainant after he convinced him by handing over all documents of the house to him and promised to produce the deed of agreement when the full payment was made.

Surprisingly, the man of God reportedly vanished into thin air after receipt of the initial payment and all efforts by the complainant to locate him proved futile.

He then decided to ignore their friendship and reported the matter to the police who initiated investigation and subsequently arrested and prosecuted past Pastor Jamiu Ishola Kolawole.

At the end of trials on Tuesday, May 8, the court presided over by O.A. Adedayo found the man of God guilty of the offence and sentenced him to a jail term of 18 months.