Tobi Adegboyega Explained

Honorific Prefix:Pastor
Birth Name:Tobi Adegboyega
Birth Date:11 November 1980
Birth Place:Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria
Nationality:Nigerian
Alma Mater:Ogun State University
Relatives:John Boyega (cousin)
Occupation:Pastor, televangelist
Founder of SPAC Nation

Tobi Adegboyega (born 11 November 1980) is a Nigerian pastor.[1] He is the founder of the Salvation Proclaimers Anointed Church (SPAC Nation, eventually known as the NXTION Family), a now defunct pentecostal church[2] formerly based in London, England.

Early life

Tobi Adegboyega moved to London from Lagos, Nigeria in 2005.[3] On arrival in London, he shared a room with his cousin John Boyega, whilst once working as a kitchen porter.[4] They are both Yoruba by tribe.[5] [6]

Career

Adegboyega started his former church SPAC Nation in 2008, with three members.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]

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.[10]

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.[11] [12]

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.[13]

Many other allegations of financial misappropriation, fraud, domestic abuse, sexual abuse have been raised against his church, SPAC Nation and pastors of the church.[14]

In 2019, SPAC Nation was accused of pressuring youths to sell blood.[15]

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.[16]

Reported philanthropy

Alongside the church's dissolution for fraud by the U.K. High Court and Insolvency Service, and clear evidence of the "large" lifestyle of Adegboyega, a lifestyle including a mansion, and expensive cars, jewelry, and clothing, there are a variety of reports of Adegboyega's charitable efforts (many in Nigerian news sources, and at least some arising from his own statements about his intended actions).[17]

In 2018, BBC's Victoria Derbyshire programme reported on SPAC Nation, noting that Adegboyega had 14 ex-criminals living with him. It was said that at the release of these convicts from prison, he takes them in to make sure they do not fall back to crime, and that he encourages former gang members to drop their weapons at the altar during services.[18]

In 2019, Adegboyega announced to a news website in Nigeria "his readiness to fight poverty among youths in Lagos State with creation of jobs through the waste management business", indicating his intent to "create thousands of jobs within 24 months in Lagos by investing money in generating over 54 million tons of waste in the state alone".[19]

Sometime in February or March 2020, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, reporting on a 16 February 2020 "powerful message from God" that had been "prophesied" by Adegboyega, it was stated that "Pastor Tobi announced that he has mobilised assorted relief materials to the less deprived, most populated communities and villages in Nigeria, Ghana and Tanzania."[20]

Personal life

Adegboyega lives in a £2.5 million mansion in Surrey.[21] In a 2020 interview, he stated he had been married for eight years.[22]

Notes and References

  1. News: Pulse Nigeria . 'We are non-partisan but we'll support aspirations of our members as permitted by law' – says SPAC Nation's Pastor Adegboyega . 22 May 2020 . Pulse Nigeria . 21 December 2019 . 22 December 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20191222132856/https://www.pulse.ng/news/metro/we-are-non-partisan-but-well-support-aspirations-of-our-members-as-permitted-by-law/2257c49 . live .
  2. News: Church group wound-up in court. 17 June 2022.
  3. News: Adekanye . Modupeoluwa . Pastors In Nigerian-Owned UK Church Accused of Pressurising Youths to Sell Blood for Money . 22 May 2020 . Guardian Nigeria . 16 December 2019.
  4. News: O'Mahony . Daniel . Churchill . David . Star Wars star John Boyega's pastor cousin blames social media for fuelling London knife crime epidemic . 21 May 2020 . Evening Standard . 17 May 2017 . 18 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200418071443/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/star-wars-actor-john-boyegas-pastor-cousin-blames-social-media-for-knife-crime-a3541076.html . live .
  5. News: Anonymous . Pastor calls neighbours 'hateful and racist' over late night parties . 21 May 2020 . Punch . 17 January 2019.
  6. News: O'Mahony . Daniel . Churchill . David . Star Wars star John Boyega's pastor cousin blames social media for fuelling London knife crime epidemic . 21 May 2020 . Evening Standard . 17 May 2017 . 18 April 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200418071443/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime/star-wars-actor-john-boyegas-pastor-cousin-blames-social-media-for-knife-crime-a3541076.html . live .
  7. News: White . Nadine . Youle . Emma . SPAC Nation: Head Of Controversial Church Steps Down . 22 May 2020 . Huffington Post . 20 May 2020.
  8. News: Philips . Noel . The church where drugs and knives are left at the altar . 22 May 2020 . BBC News . 1 February 2018 . 18 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190418201226/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-42887653 . live .
  9. News: White . Nadine . Youle . Emma . SPAC Nation: Head Of Controversial Church Steps Down . 22 May 2020 . Huffington Post . 20 May 2020.
  10. News: Bryant . Ben . SPAC Nation: Church group 'financially exploited members' . 21 May 2020 . BBC . 16 December 2019 . 12 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200812185556/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-50815142 . live .
  11. News: Bryant . Ben . SPAC Nation: Church group 'financially exploited members' . 21 May 2020 . BBC . 16 December 2019 . 12 August 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200812185556/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-50815142 . live .
  12. News: Mkandawire . Vinjeru . SPAC Nation: the South London church, a £2.5m Surrey mansion and a sham loan storm at HSBC . 22 May 2020 . The Telegraph . 19 January 2020 . 27 February 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200227053222/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2020/01/19/kitchen-porter-25m-surrey-mansion-spac-nation-pastor-heart-hsbc/ . live .
  13. News: Anonymous . SPAC Nation: No criminal probe into evangelical church . 22 May 2020 . BBC . 11 February 2020.
  14. News: White . Nadine . Youle . Emma . SPAC Nation: Head Of Controversial Church Steps Down . 22 May 2020 . Huffington Post . 20 May 2020.
  15. News: Adekanye . Modupeoluwa . Pastors In Nigerian-Owned UK Church Accused of Pressurising Youths to Sell Blood for Money . 22 May 2020 . Guardian Nigeria . 16 December 2019.
  16. News: SPAC Nation church shut down by government following fraud allegations. 17 June 2022.
  17. News: Martin, Iain & Emerson, Sarah . 7 July 2023 . The Editor, the Fraudster, and the Pastor: How A Magazine Claiming To Empower Female Founders Was 'Birthed' By A Controversial Church . . 12 July 2023 . [Quote] SPAC Nation’s primary company was effectively dissolved by the U.K.’s High Court in June 2022, after an Insolvency Service investigation found the organization could not properly account for $2.4 million (£1.87 million) of expenditures. Its charitable status was revoked a month later. “While SPAC Nation claimed it had noble intentions to support vulnerable and young people, our enquiries uncovered a different side of the charity … SPAC Nation failed to properly account for income received from donations and other expenditure,” Edna Okhiria, Chief Investigator for the Insolvency Service, said in a statement at the time. / Amid all this, Adegboyega lived conspicuously large. On social media he can be seen clad in designer clothes, hosting tours of his mansion in England’s affluent Surrey county, flashing what he said was a $130,000 (£100,000) diamond ring with the SPAC Nation slogan 'Semen, Tempus, Messis,' ('the harvest is ready') or driving a $200,000 Lamborghini—vanity plate “PA5TOR.” In one video, Adegboyega sarcastically jokes about 'offending with Fendi.' In another, he shows off his 'birthday convoy': 6 Lamborghinis, 2 Ferraris and a Rolls Royce Cullinan. 'Count how many Lambos are here,' he can be heard saying. .
  18. News: Philips . Noel . The Church Where Drugs and Knives are Left at the Altar . 22 May 2020 . BBC News . 1 February 2018 . 18 April 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190418201226/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/amp/uk-42887653 . live .
  19. News: Oke, Jeremiah . 25 August 2019 . UK-Based Nigerian Pastor to Empower Lagos Youths . . 12 July 2023 . 26 August 2019 . https://web.archive.org/web/20190826024249/http://www.dailytrust.com.ng/uk-based-nigerian-pastor-to-empower-lagos-youths.html/amp . dead .
  20. News: PMNewsNigeria.com Staff . 30 March 2020 . Coronavirus: Brace up for more turmoil in April—Adegboyega . . 22 May 2020 .
  21. News: Marakike . Shingi . 'Spac Nation church told faithful to defraud banks' . 22 May 2020 . The Times UK . 10 November 2019 . 26 January 2020 . https://web.archive.org/web/20200126052701/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/church-told-faithful-to-defraud-banks-k0nj8v09k . live .
  22. Web site: THE ZEZE MILLZ SHOW: Ft Pastor Tobi "The Black Community Have Nothing To Offer Me". .

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