Pastor David Ibiyeomie, the founder and senior pastor of Salvation Ministries, has issued a stern warning against internet fraud, commonly known as “Yahoo Yahoo,” declaring that those involved in the practice are not welcome to worship or give offerings in his church.
Delivering a fiery sermon to his congregation, the cleric strongly condemned online scamming, rejecting popular justifications used to rationalise the practice and emphasising the devastating real-world harm caused to victims.
“No matter how you paint it, Yahoo is stealing”
Addressing the presence of internet fraudsters within religious spaces, Ibiyeomie criticised the lack of remorse shown by young men who flaunt illicit wealth in church after defrauding unsuspecting individuals.
“Do you know that there are Yahoo boys inside the church? They have no conscience. They Yahoo somebody and they are very happy in church,” he said.
He dismissed attempts to sanitise or rebrand cybercrime, insisting that taking money that does not belong to oneself remains a basic act of theft.
“No matter how you put it, Yahoo is stealing. I don’t care how you paint it. Whatever you take that belongs to somebody else, that is not your own, is stealing. Yahoo is stealing,” Ibiyeomie said.
The human cost of cybercrime
To illustrate the severity of internet fraud, the pastor recounted a tragic incident involving a university professor and electrical engineer who lost his entire life savings to scammers.
According to Ibiyeomie, the academic collapsed and died shortly after discovering his bank accounts had been emptied.
“Every money he saved as a professor, all his savings, was taken,” Ibiyeomie stated, warning that money obtained through fraud often carries catastrophic consequences for victims and their families.
Rejection of illicit offerings and call to separate
Closing his message, Ibiyeomie urged congregants to cut ties with anyone involved in cybercrime and explicitly directed fraudsters to take their financial contributions elsewhere.
“In case you are following such a person, separate from him now,” he warned. “If you are a Yahoo boy in this church, go to another church and give your offering, because you are killing people. People have died because of Yahoo.”
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