By Karen James
Dr. David Emmanuel Ovie, the Head Pastor and General Overseer of the God in Action Liberation Mission, has filed a five hundred million naira (N500 million) lawsuit against one of his church members. The member, identified as Temitope Monday Diamond, had demanded the return of his Lexus RX330 SUV from the church after an alleged failed prophecy.
According to Temitope, the pastor had asked him to sacrifice his most precious property, the Lexus SUV, in order for his financial situation to improve. However, after four months with no positive changes, Temitope’s wife called the pastor to inquire about the situation. This led to a confrontation, during which the pastor threatened to refund the money he received from selling the vehicle, which amounted to N4 million.
Despite multiple attempts to contact the pastor and retrieve the promised refund, Temitope and his wife were met with silence. They eventually visited the church accompanied by a few friends and two unarmed soldiers for security. However, the pastor called the youths of the community to attack them before handing them over to the police.
Once detained, Temitope and his wife were later released on bail after paying N200,000. However, instead of resolving the issue, the pastor filed a lawsuit against them at the Orerokpe High Court. In the lawsuit, he claimed that Temitope and his wife came to his church with an army, and he demanded N500 million in damages.
In response, Temitope shared his side of the story and insisted that the allegations made by the pastor were false. He stated that they only sought the return of their vehicle or the N4 million as promised at the police station.
The court documents obtained by SaharaReporters stated that the pastor alleged that he was arrested and detained on January 21, the same day that Temitope and his friends confronted the church. The document listed Temitope as the first respondent, the Divisional Police Officer and Commissioner of Police as second and third respondents, respectively. The relief sought by the pastor included a declaration of gross violation of his right to personal liberty.
When contacted by SaharaReporters, the pastor did not provide further details and stated that the matter was now in court. He claimed that Temitope and his friends had caused a disturbance during a live service Wedding and that his members were forced to defend themselves against the intruders.
The case is currently ongoing, with the court scheduled to sit on May 10 to address the matter.
