By Dave Ben
The Ogoja District Superintendent of the Assemblies of God Church, AG, Reverend Linus Ijigu has been suspended for alleged misappropriation of funds and intimidation of colleagues, sources in the Church have said.
TheInvestigator reports that Reverend Ijigu whose suspension will last for about five years, was also demoted and posted to a small branch of the AG in Mbok, Ekajuk still in Ogoja Local Government Area.
His suspension was handed down from the national authority of the church as a result of misappropriating millions of Naira with one source putting the figure at “over NGN100 million.”
“His tenure was characterized by intimidations, threats and harassment of his fellow executive council members who attempted to raise alarm over his misconducts and embezzlement of church funds,” a source familiar with the matter spoke on the condition of anonymity.
“When the national council auditors went through the records, it was discovered that the suspended DS had been using names of pastors who have passed on (died) to divert funds into pseudo accounts.
“More investigations reveal that another NGN27 million Naira meant for the national council which he was expected to remit to the national body, was however, diverted into his personal account… And the national council has insisted that he must pay the money,” the source added.
The Ogoja district comprises Bekwarra, Yala, and Ogoja Local Government Areas.
The church subsequently appointed Reverend Victor Esangha, a native of Ukelle in Yala Local Government as the new District Superintendent.
Reverend Linus was contacted for comment on the allegations, but he didn’t respond. Neither calls nor text were attended to.
EDITORS’ NOTE: 12/09/2024 – Following a complaint, the editorial team investigated and discovered that this story was first published weeks ago by our sister newsroom, www.theinvestigator.ng. Therefore, we have edited some parts of the story (particularly, Paras 2 and 4) to properly reflect that and have taken adequate steps to prevent such from occuring again.
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