Police arraign 37-year-old man who allegedly stole 21m from church

Nwafor Onyebuchi, 37, was charged by the police with stealing N21 million from a Catholic church on Tuesday before a Lagos State Magistrates' Court in Badagry.

Onyebuchi is being prosecuted on three counts that the police have filed against him, including one each for conspiracy, theft, and violation of the peace.

The defendant committed the crime on December 21, 2022, at Saint Patrick Catholic Church in Alaba in the state's Ojo region, according to the prosecutor, Inspector Ayodele Adeosun.

He claimed that the accused allegedly stole funds intended for the church's expansion.

According to Adeosun, the defendant used the money for personal expenses.

The prosecutor further informed the court that the defendant stole from the church and behaved in a way that was likely to disturb the peace.

The prosecution claims that the crime committed violated Sections 287, 168, and 307 of the Lagos State Criminal Law from 2015.

The defendant, however, entered a plea of not guilty to the alleged offense.

Magistrate T. A. Popoola, however, granted the defendant bail in the amount of N1 million with two sureties in the same amount.

Popoola ruled that both sureties must provide proof of three years of tax payments to the Lagos State Government, and that one of the sureties must be linked to the defendant.

The matter was postponed to June 5, 2023, for mention.