UK govt shuts SPAC Nation church owned by flamboyant Pastor Tobi Adegboyega over fraud
Bottom: A fleet of posh cars of members who drove in a convoy to his church to mark his birthday some time ago.
A London-based church group, Salvation Proclaimer Ministries Limited (SPAC Nation), owned by flamboyant Nigerian Pastor Tobi Adegboyega, has been ordered shut after failing to account for more than £1.87m.
The church was also accused of operating without transparency.
Government agency, The Insolvency Service, announced on Friday, June 17 that SPAC Nation, which was incorporated in 2012 to advance Christianity, was wound up in a High Court on 9 June 2022 before Judge Burton.
The enquiries found that SPAC Nation failed to comply or only partially complied with statuary requirements, such as providing data to support claimed donations and accounting records in support of £1.87 million of expenditure.
In the two years to 31st December 2019, the company’s financial statements set out £610,000 of rent, despite not having a single base of its own as they would hire venues across London to hold services.
Investigators also interviewed one of the company’s directors, Adedapo Olugbenga Adegboyega, also known as Pastor Dapo, who claimed the church group had over 2,000 members and 200 ordained ministers and pastors. However, he failed to provide information to support these claims.
The court concluded that the church, once hailed by UK politicians as a beacon of hope for ex-gang members, operated with a lack of transparency, filed suspicious or incorrect accounts, and was insolvent at the time of the hearing.
Edna Okhiria, the chief investigator for the Insolvency Service, said:
“While SPAC Nation claimed it had noble intentions to support vulnerable and young people, our enquiries uncovered a different side of the charity.
“There were clear concerns around how the church group managed its affairs and SPAC Nation failed to properly account for income received from donations and other expenditures.
“The court recognised the severity of SPAC Nation’s actions and this sends a strong message that proper records and accounts must be maintained, even if you’re a charity.”
Though an organisation can be forced to administratively close and cease to exist under that name on the Companies House register, companies can appear under a different name and this has previously been known to happen.
SPAC Nation rebranded as Nxtion Family in June 2020, a month after head pastor Tobi Adeboyega announced he was stepping down as leader, though he has remained at the helm of the organisation.
