A retired civil servant, Mr. Fasaki Olutayo Jacob, on Thursday told the Federal High Court in Jos, Plateau State, how he lost his savings to an alleged ₦178.8 million investment scam orchestrated by Bishop Jonas Katung and one Okewole Dayo.
Jacob, 68, testified before Justice Sharon T. Ishaya as the second prosecution witness (PW2) in the ongoing trial of the two defendants, who are facing a 23-count charge bordering on obtaining money under false pretence.
The charges were brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Ibrahim Buba, Jacob recounted how he was lured into investing in the so-called Fadama Multi-purpose Cooperative Society after watching one of Bishop Katung’s televised sermons on Plateau Radio and Television (PRTV).
He said the message delivered by the bishop made him believe that the cooperative society was genuine.
The witness told the court that he later visited the bishop’s church, Maranata Church, located on Miyangu Street in Jos, where he was persuaded to invest in the cooperative, which was presented as a faith-based investment platform.
He explained that he was directed to the cooperative’s secretariat, where he met the first defendant, Dayo, who instructed him to make payments through Fadama Multi-purpose Cooperative Society.
Jacob said he paid ₦1 million at Dadin Kowa Microfinance Bank and later added ₦200,000, bringing his total investment to ₦1.2 million.
He was issued receipts and a small record card for tracking his promised 10 percent monthly interest.
However, the witness said payments stopped in 2012. Dayo later convened a meeting at Lamide Hotel, Jos, where he appealed to investors for patience, assuring them that all outstanding payments would be settled.
Jacob further stated that Bishop Katung appeared on a PRTV programme and publicly promised that investors would be paid the following week, but nothing came out of it.
He recounted how aggrieved investors later stormed the cooperative’s Jos office to demand refunds, leading to police intervention to prevent an attack on Dayo.
He said the police asked the investors to nominate some representatives to meet them at the headquarters, and he was among those selected.
Jacob added that when the police could not resolve the matter, the EFCC took over the investigation.
Both defendants were later invited for questioning and a reconciliation meeting with investors at No. 10 Miyangu Road, Jos.
He told the court that Bishop Katung assured investors that the cooperative owned assets and produced documents of a landed property, suggesting that proceeds from its sale would be used to repay them.
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However, he said that even after the property was sold, investors never received any money.
The prosecution tendered the receipt issued to Jacob, which was admitted in evidence as Exhibit F.
Under cross-examination by defence counsel, C.I. Nwogbo, representing the first defendant, the witness confirmed making his statement to the EFCC in 2012 and affirmed its accuracy. He, however, clarified that Dayo was not involved in the television broadcast that influenced his decision to invest.
