Pastor Babatope Agboola of Christ Intercession Ministry shocked his members during a church service when he ran out of the church and climbed the church fence to escape police arrest.
The police had declared him wanted and the court issued a warrant of arrest of the pastor over his alleged involvement in fraud.
The action of the pastor threw the church members into confusion as they started running helter skelter.
The 45-year old pastor was alleged to have defrauded an Edo woman. The pastor escaped to Ibadan and hide where he opened another brand of the church.
He was alleged to have duped betty Ohehe on the false pretence of being spiritual director. He tolt the woman to bring some amount of money which he would use to help her establish business in Nigeria.
The woman obligued him and sent N445,000 which he said would yield some millions of profit in poultry farm business. But when he got the money in Lagos, he relocated to Ibadan where he was eventually arrested.
When the woman returned to Nigeria, she could not find him and she had to arrest the sister, Florence Ajijola, who introduced him to her.
He was traced to Ibadan by a team of policemen from Lagos.
Agboola was charged to Isolo magistrate's court for fraud, an offence said to be contrary to to section 419 of the criminal code.
When the matter came up at the court and charges were read to him, he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The prosecutor, Adebayo Oladele, told the court prsided over by Mrs. E.Kubenje that the accused should not be granted bail because he had been on the run since he committed the crime.
Oladele narrated to the court how he went to the pastor's church at Ibadan and when he sighted them while he was delivering a sermon, he dropped the microphone, ran out of the church and climbed the church fence and escaped not being arrested.
But in response, the magistrate court said the offence he committed was a bailable offence and he was entitled to bail.
He was then granted bail with the sum of N 300,000 with two sureties. The court ruled that the two sureties must be civil servants on at least level 14.
The sureties must shoe evidence of tax payment and their addresses must be verified by the court.
The matter has ben adjourned till 30th June, 2010.
-----Cyriacus Izuekwe
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