Lawyer threatens suit against Pastor over legal fees; He did nothing – Pastor

Dennis Udoma

An Abuja based legal practitioner, Mr Jacob Udobang has threatened a law suit against the Living Faith Pastor, Ntia Thompson for allegedly defrauding him the sum of N200, 000 being cost of legal services to free him from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) custody in Abuja.

Mr Thompson was arrested and detained recently at Abuja office of the EFCC for failing to produce a serving Senator (names withheld), from Akwa Ibom to answer queries on matters of conspiracy and diversion of public funds when he was a Commissioner.

He said Mr Thompson, a Deputy Director in the Federal Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Abuja posed as a professional surety to the high profile politician for a fee.

According to him, ‘‘after a legal representation, Mr Thompson was released before the Senator (suspect) could arrive the commission to face his cases of alleged conspiracy and diversion of

public funds’’.

Udobang, who disclosed this to our Correspondent in Uyo, vowed to prosecute the Pastor for cheating, unprofessional conduct, and breach of public service rules/laws of the land.

He further maintained that, the Deputy Director who was detained for three days in Abuja by the anti-graft agency hired him for a fee but, after the legal work was completed and he was eventually released from detention, Pastor Thompson developed cold feet to pay his honorarium of N200, 000

sent through him by the Senator adding that, he has petitioned the Budget/National Planning Ministry for information and necessary action.

The letter titled, ‘‘Gross Abuse of Public Service Rules and Extant Laws by Engaging as Professional Surety for Financial Gains’’ and addressed to the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Budget and National Planning, Abuja dated July 3, 2019 and made available to our Correspondent,

read inter alia that; ‘‘We are solicitors engaged by Mr. Ntia Thompson, a Deputy Director in your ministry from Monday July 17, 2019 to Wednesday July 19, 2019 to work for his release, having been held in the EFCC custody for failure to produce a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria he surety for in 2018.

‘‘Since effort to recover the honorarium given to him through the Pastor for the legal services  converted to fees for his professional surety, we would recover our fees through the

instrumentality of court’’.

But the Deputy Director, Mr Ntia Thompson when contacted on the telephone dismissed the allegation saying, Mr Udobang came to perform the legal services hours after he had been released from the EFCC custody, because the Senator engrossed in the matter had submitted himself to the

anti-graft agency that eventful Wednesday.