Pastor fakes death, prints own obituary to escape N3million debt

An Ondo-based pastor, Paul Oyewole, has been arrested for allegedly faking his death in a bid to avoid repaying a N3 million debt owed to a church member.

The 43-year-old clergyman was accused of printing and posting his own obituary on the social media platform, WhatsApp.

Oyewole was arraigned on Wednesday at the Chief Magistrate Court, Ondo Town on charges of fraudulently obtaining N3 million (N3,000,000) from one Boyede Emmanuel, with the promise to pay back the money within seven days.

According to Police Prosecutor, Akao Moremi, the defendant failed to fulfil the promise and instead published his obituary on WhatsApp after he had sent a fake bank alert.

Oyewole pleaded not guilty to the charges.

The pastor was also said to have “threatened the complainant on phone, with the intent to intimidate him and also conducted himself in a manner likely to cause a breach of the peace, by stripping himself naked in front of the house of the complainant.”

He was granted N1 million bail with two sureties in like sum.