We Relied a Lot on Garri”: Late Deborah Samuel’s Family Lament Months after OPM’s Pastor Moved Them to PH

The family of the late Deborah Samuel has cried out that they are in dire need of assistance as things are not rosy for them in Port Harcourt.

Recall that in May 2022, OPM’s pastor, Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere had promised to relocate the family to Port Harcourt after their daughter, the late Deborah Samuel, was lynched by her schoolmates on May 12, 2022.

In a Facebook post that blew up 11 months ago, Apostle Chibuzor Chinyere of Omega Power Ministries (OPM) offered them a new life.

He offered to place them in one of OPM’s free estates where they won’t have to pay rent forever, among other things he promised.

However, Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) recently visited Deborah’s family in PH and found out that the reverse was somewhat the case. In a detailed report, FIJ spoke with Deborah’s parents and learnt that the apartment was not free of charge. “From time to time, the OPM leader used to call to check on us. He paid the rent. Right now, the rent for this apartment has expired.

The landlord has told us to renew the rent or leave. “All the appliances and the equipment in this apartment belong to OPM, we don’t own it,” late Deborah’s dad said. FIJ also learnt that OPM paid for a year’s rent and that their rent expired in May 2023. It was learnt that the landlord was harassing Deborah’s family for rent renewal and not OPM. The family further lamented that they have been left alone.

“I really wanted to return to Niger State because there is no support here. It isn’t about money, no member of OPM comes here to pay us a visit. Since we’ve been in Port Harcourt, none of OPM’s members cared enough to visit us here. While we were in Niger we were surrounded by loved ones and Christians from different churches.