Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), has called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and other anti-corruption agencies to take legal action against churches that are misappropriating charity funds for commercial use, labeling this practice as criminal.
He also urged church members to confront those involved in financial mismanagement within their congregations.
Falana made these remarks during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) at the 2024 Peace Summit organized by the Justice Development Peace Commission (JDPC) in Lagos on Saturday.
The summit, themed “Cultivating a Culture of Peace in Nigeria: A Call to Action,” aimed to rekindle national interest in community welfare.
“It is abysmal for faith bodies to deviate from their core role of service to people to business ventures under the cover of faith. Such funds should be tailored to charity works to help people make good living and meet social challenges,” he said.
He emphasized that since these funds are not subjected to taxation, it is a criminal act for faith leaders to redirect them into commercial ventures.
“Members of such faith and the authorities in charge of financial misappropriation should go against such perpetrators and bring them to book,” Falana asserted.
The senior lawyer particularly criticized church leaders who solicit donations to establish schools yet impose high fees that impoverished families cannot afford.
He lamented the ongoing situation where the children of faithful contributors to these institutions are unable to pay their tuition. “The claims by some proprietors of such schools that Jesus Christ asked them to increase tuitions is a mockery of God and His grace to mankind,” he added.
According to NAN, JDPC, a social arm of the Catholic Church, focuses on promoting sustainable and integral human development through a holistic empowerment approach.