The General Overseer of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries, Dr. Daniel Olukoya, on Saturday denied the allegation reported in some sections of the media that he stole £150,000.
He also distanced himself from alleged involvement in any fraudulent activities.
While accusing the authors of being bent on churning out malicious stories against him and the church, he itemised seven allegations against him and MFM by an online medium, saying they were unfounded.
Olukoya who made the clarification in a statement by his spokesperson, Collins Edomaruse, in Abuja told MFM members and friends “to just ignore these false and malicious publications for what they are.”
“As for those who have made it their preoccupation and livelihood to pour filth on our church and General Overseer, we love you as God’s creation and will continue to pray that you cease from your steady decline into perdition,” Edomaruse said.
The allegations were that Olukoya falsely claimed residence of Maryland in the United States; illegally imported books into the US and evaded payment of customs duties. He was also alleged to have suspended MFM trustees in the United Kingdom.
Edomaruse said, “It has become pertinent for the purpose of clarity to respond to the false allegations being peddled against MFM and our General Overseer – Dr D. K. Olukoya, on social media.
“Nothing can be further from the truth. Olukoya’s books are sold on Amazon. It is foolhardy for anyone to suggest that he brought in his books to US illegally when he can and has been doing so legally. This false allegation was pioneered by a former Pastor of MFM who tried to steal MFM branch in Maryland.
“This concocted lie could best be described as the wild thrashings of a drowning man intent on bringing everybody down with him. However, in defence of this allegation, MFM brought its book keeper to testify in court, who produced all the receipts of payment and customs documents and, in the end, the judge not only thrashed the wild allegation but gave judgment in favour of MFM
“The MFM trustees were never suspended. They are still in charge of the church even up till now. The trustees were never indicted. We can authoritatively say that no trustee of MFM-UK has ever committed fraud.
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“Olukoya didn’t steal £150,000. This is a complete fabrication from the fevered minds of the defamers. Fortunately, all the people who took money illegally are still alive. The genesis of this allegation is that the lease of one of our branches in London contained a clause which stipulated that any party who broke the lease for any reason before its expiration would pay a penalty of £150,000 to the other party.
“It happened that the owner of the property broke the lease and sold the property to a third party which necessitated the church to relocate from the building.”
It may be recalled that the Charity Commission for England and Wales, on June 6, 2018, opened a statutory inquiry into the activities of Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries International; and on August 2, 2019, it appointed an interim manager to the church.
The Charity Commission is the independent regulator of charities in England and Wales; and it based its action on Section 76(3)(g) of the Charities Act 2011 that gives it power to appoint interim managers to a charity.
