Nwafor Onyebuchi, 37, was charged by the police on Tuesday before a Lagos State Magistrates’ Court in Badagry for allegedly stealing N21 million from a Catholic church.
Onyebuchi is being prosecuted on three police-recommended counts of conspiracy, theft, and violation of the peace.
According to the prosecutor, Inspector Ayodele Adeosun, the defendant committed the crime on December 21, 2022, at Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Alaba in the state’s Ojo region.
He claimed the accused allegedly stole funds intended for the expansion of the church.
According to Adeosun, the defendant used the money for personal expenses.
The prosecutor further informed the court that the defendant stole from the church and behaved in a way that was likely to disturb the peace.
The prosecution claims that the crime committed violated Sections 287, 168, and 307 of the Lagos State Criminal Law from 2015.
The defendant, however, entered a plea of not guilty to the alleged offense.
Magistrate T. A. Popoola, however, granted the defendant bail in the amount of N1 million with two sureties in the same amount.
Popoola ruled that both sureties must provide proof of three years of tax payments to the Lagos State Government, and that one of the sureties must be linked to the defendant.
The matter was postponed to June 5, 2023,