Diri was said to have impersonated a pastor of the Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries to defraud a civil servant in the Lagos state government, Itohan Odiase.
Apparently, the suspect had secretly sourced personal information
about the complainant before approaching her, claiming that he saw a
revelation about her.
She was said to have been taken in by his tricks and believed
him. After some time, Diri reportedly demanded N13,000, as payment for
prayers and deliverance from the victim and she gave him.
Diri pushed his luck further when he later began to pester Odiase to attend a vigil on any Thursday night.
Odiase, who became curious, enquired from members of the church if they held vigils on Thursdays, which they denied.
It was then she reported the matter at the Sabo Police Division and
the suspect was arrested and arraigned before a Yaba Chief Magistrates’
Court, Lagos state.
The police told the court that they recovered from the suspect, a
bottle of anointing oil, ten prayer books written by the General
Overseer of MFM, Dr. Daniel Olukoya.
The charges read in part, “That you, Divine-Praise Diri, on June 3,
2015, on Toyin Street Ikeja, Lagos, in the Lagos Magisterial District,
did obtain the sum of N13, 000 from one Itohan Odiase under the pretext
of praying and conducting deliverance for her, a representation you knew
to be false and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 311
and punishable under Section 312 (1) (a) of the Criminal Law of Lagos
State of Nigeria, 2011.”
Diri pleaded guilty to the charges.
