Founder of Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministries International, Emmanuel Omale, has filed a suit against First City Monument Bank (FCMB) for falsely reporting to the Nigerian Financial Intelligence Unit that N570m was paid into his church account.
Omale, in the suit marked FCT/HC/CV/2020, by him; his wife, Deborah Omale; and the church, the Incorporated Trustees of the Divine Hand of God Prophetic Ministry.
“Sometime on or about the 6th day of July 2020 the former acting Chairman of the EFCC, Mr. Ibrahim Magu, was arrested and summoned to the Presidential Villa, Abuja, to appear before the Presidential Investigation Committee on the Alleged Mismanagement of the EFCC, Federal Government Recovered Assets and Finances From May 2015 to May 2020.
“That one of the key allegations levelled at the Presidential Investigation Committee against Mr. Ibrahim Magu, was that the 2nd Claimant (Prophet Omale) fraudulently and corruptly purchased a real estate property for Mr. Ibrahim Magu in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates with the said sum of N573, 228, 04 allegedly credited as an inflow into the 1st Claimant’s (church’s) Corporate Current Account No: 1486743019 in the year 2016,” the statement of claim read partly.
According to Omale, due to the investigation and negative media reports, they were exposed to public hatred and contempt and injured in their religious calling.
He also added that he and his wife were invited to appear on August 10, 2020, before a Presidential Investigation Committee at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
The cleric, however, demanded the sum of five million Naira from the bank for damages over the report.
“The sum of N5,000,000, 000.00 (Five Billion Naira) being exemplary, aggravated, special and general damages against the defendant for the negligent breach of its fiduciary duty of care to the claimants by its false automated report to the NFIU of a suspicious credit inflow of N573, 228, 040. 41 into the 1st claimant’s corporate current account number 1486743019 with the defendant, which has occasioned grave damages to the claimants,” he stated.