Alleged embezzlement: Oyo Baptist pastor chased out of church

Aggrieved members of the Ajegunle Baptist Church, Agbowo, Ibadan locked out the church pastor and other members on Sunday over allegations that the pastor was embezzling funds and abusing his office.

The aggrieved members under the umbrella of “Concerned Members”, accused the church pastor, Reverend Oyewole Oyekan of running the financial affairs of the church alone and keeping over N4 million belonging to the church in his personal account.

“Our pastor has turned himself to the treasurer and financial secretary of the church, whereas we employed him. He spends our money singlehandedly without getting clearance from the financial secretary or church council, Spokesman for the concerned members, Sangolade Olufemi told Nigerian Tribune.

“We reported him to the association, conference; all they were doing was to appeal to us to give peace a chance. We have proved it beyond reasonable ground and we want him to leave our church.”

In response, Oyekan described the allegations leveled against him as false. He held that he has not been formally indicted by the auditor, financial secretary, treasurer or church in council on the allegations of embezzlement.

“Every quarter, we report everything to the church, the auditor’s report, the financial secretary report, treasurer report, and none of such reports has ever indicted me for anything,” the embattled clergyman said.

“The hidden agenda is that I have been here for 18 years, and they want our members to go so that they can share the properties of the church. In the Baptist church, we don’t do that. They claim to be foundation members. We have people who have been here for over 20 years, who are said to be visitors.”

The pastor insisted that the Baptist convention has not fired him and has told the aggrieved members to let peace reign but they refused.

“They say the Baptist convention, the Ibadan Baptist conference, the association, the church in conference, deacons are biased,” Oyekan said.

Secretary of the church, Deacon Oladosu Olusola, said the agitators should rather follow due process in advancing their agitations.