A clergy identified as Pastor Joseph Oluwa has been arrested by the police for allegedly defrauding 1,132 members of the National Automobile Technicians Association (NATA) in Kaduna.
The alleged scam involved a total of N25 million.
Pastor Oluwa reportedly promised loans ranging from N500,000 to N1 million to interested beneficiaries within the NATA.
However, he failed to fulfil these commitments, causing financial distress among the members.
Bola Ahmed Lawal, Chairman of NATA’s Kaduna Chapter, revealed that members had contributed 1% of the loan amount and paid N270 each as part of the loan process at a private bank in August 2021.
The Pastor assured that the loans would be disbursed within 90 days of the contributions. However, even after two years, the loans had not been provided.
Tensions arose between the Pastor and NATA’s executives, leading to his arrest by the police on August 2, 2023.
Lawal emphasised that the association’s primary objective was to recover the accumulated sum of over N25 million due to the unfulfilled loan promises.
The affected members, who were in need of financial assistance to enhance their businesses, have faced difficulties due to the unmet loan commitments.
Mansir Hassan, the Acting Public Relations Officer of the Kaduna Command, confirmed that the suspect was initially taken to the Crime Investigation Department (CID) on charges of cheating and breach of trust.
However, based on a request from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), he was handed over to EFCC officials for further investigation.