EKO NEWS
Lagos Prophet Marcus Tibetan Entangled In A Web Of N65m Land Controversy Involving Church Member
Eko Hot Blog reports that a member of a white garment church, David Timilehin, has accused popular Lagos-based prophet, Marcus Tibetan, of a N65 million land scam.
According to The Cable, the prophet allegedly promised Timilehin a land near the recently inaugurated Dangote refinery in the state but failed to deliver it.
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The church member, who is a real estate businessman, said his relationship with Tibetan was that of a father and son as he had taken the prophet as a spiritual guide.
Timilehin recalled that, in 2022, Tibetan informed him of the availability of two hectares of land (30 plots) supposedly in Ketu, Epe area of the state, belonging to Omolara Akintonde, another church member and former first lady of Ogun state.
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.
Timilehin said he paid the N65.5 million cost of the land to the prophet to be transferred to Akintonde.
He noted that before making the payment, he tried to get a lawyer to seal the deal but the prophet told him he would not need one since he is the one involved.
A year after making the payment, Timilehin said he has not been allocated the land; neither did he receive a receipt of payment nor any documentation of the land. Instead, he has been involved in a back-and-forth conversation with the prophet and Akintonde.
“There are indications that Tibetan and Akintonde have connived to deny me my hard-earned money,” Timilehin told The Cable.
“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.”
The situation, however, got messier when Timilehin visited the land without Tibetan’s knowledge and discovered that it was not what was described to him by the prophet.
“The prophet told me the 30 plots of land were close to the Dangote refinery. But I have since discovered that the land is in the forest of Epe. It is largely an uncultivated land in the remote areas of Epe which can’t sell for more than N1 million per plot,” Timilehin said.
He said Prophet Tibetan was angry that he went to inspect the land.
“I wonder why he was so annoyed that I went to check the land I paid for. It was when I saw the land that I discovered it was not the land they told me about,” Timilehin said.
He stated that later on, Akintonde said the earlier price of N2 million per plot was a mistake, that the land “actually costs 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,” Timilehin said.
“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.”
In a letter to Akintonde, Timilehin’s lawyer, Ayo Durojaiye, asked for a refund, saying the land deal “is tainted with fraud”.
In a phone call with TheCable, 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,” Tibetan 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.”
However, bank statements presented by Timilehin showed he sent about N63 million in instalments to the prophet from February to March 2022, according to The Cable.
FURTHER READING
Akintonde did not respond to several calls and messages to tell her side of the story.
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