Tobi Adegboyega
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
November 11, 1980
Pastor Tobi Adegboyega | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Tobi Adegboyega November 11, 1980 Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria |
| Alma mater | Ogun State University |
| Occupations | Pastor, televangelist |
| Title | Founder of SPAC Nation |
| Partner |
Lucy Oluwatosin Odetola
(m. 2011) |
| Website | www |
Tobi Adegboyega ⓘ(born 11 November 1980) is a high-profile[1] Nigerian pastor. He is the founder of the Salvation Proclaimers Anointed Church (SPAC Nation), now, the Nxtion Family.
Career
Adegboyega started his former church SPAC Nation in 2008, with three members.[6] The church was based in Croydon, south London. As pastor, he would encourage criminals to drop their weapons at the altar of his church during services, an act that received both praise and criticism from the public.[7] On 20 May 2020, Adegboyega reportedly stepped down as Lead Pastor of SPAC Nation and handed over the church to Samuel Akokhia, two years prior to its closure. The announcement was then made via the church's official Twitter handle.[8]
He has invested in the various interests of the young people he meets from the arts, politics, STEM, fashion and academia. Students from disadvantaged backgrounds, aspiring to attend Russell Group and Ivy League universities like Harvard, Cambridge and Imperial College were supported by grant-funding aiding them in their fees and living costs during their studies.[9][10]
Controversies
A BBC Panorama investigation accused Adegboyega and other leaders of the church of financially exploiting members of the church. Panorama interviewed members who made accusations of the church, and suggested Adegboyega be held accountable.[11]
Panorama later released a video of Adegboyega, quoted as saying he believed it was "no big deal for members of the church to give at least £1,000 a month to the church", and that he needed to make £1 million monthly. A member of the church, Nino, claimed he was asked for £20,000 by Adegboyega, who said he needed it for an investment. While the church denied these allegations, Adegboyega declined an interview with Panorama.[12][13]
In January 2020, his church was accused of financial exploitation and fraud by Croydon North MP Steve Reed, but as of February 2020, the police have said that they would not launch a criminal enquiry.[14]
Many other allegations of financial misappropriation, fraud, domestic abuse, sexual abuse have been raised against his church, SPAC Nation and pastors of the church.[15]
In 2019, SPAC Nation was accused of pressuring youths to sell blood.[16]
Despite these allegations and claims, in February 2020, the Metropolitan Police stated that it had dropped its criminal case against SPAC Nation after finding no criminal acts of fraud or other offences.[17]
The Metropolitan Police told HuffPost: “Officers from central specialist crime carried out a review to identify if any criminal offences had been committed. The review is now complete and no criminal investigation has been launched into these specific allegations.”[18]
The Metropolitan Police confirmed that numerous people did not respond despite several requests to contact the police.[19]
The Metropolitan Police stated that officers had made efforts to contact all potential informants, including individuals who had reportedly communicated with a local Member of Parliament.[20]
The Metropolitan Police also stated that some of the information provided to third parties was not corroborated during police interviews with potential witnesses or victims. They declared they would review their investigation if any further information came to light.[21]
In June 2022, Adegboyega's SPAC Nation church was ordered to shut down for good by the U.K. government, after failing to properly account for more than £1.87 million of outgoings and operating with a lack of transparency.[22]
