A single mother of two, Sandra Okpara, has recovered N1,640,200 she mistakenly transferred to an account linked to Pastor Jerry Eze’s Streams of Joy International.
The refund came a day after a video appeal by Okpara circulated widely on social media, in which she pleaded for help tracing the money.
Okpara had explained in the video, which she posted on Friday, that the money did not belong to her but was meant for people she was expected to pay.
She said, “This money is not my money. I cannot do offering of 1,640,200. Please help me trace the accounts.”
Speaking with PUNCH Online on Saturday, Okpara said she had earlier transferred N1,000 as an offering on Friday before attempting to send another payment of more than N1.6m to a Zenith Bank account.
According to her, she only discovered that she had made the wrong transfer after checking the transaction receipt.
“My hand just clicked that one. Before God and man, it was erroneous,” she said.
Okpara said she initially approached Zenith Bank after realising the mistake but was unable to recover the funds.
“I went to Moniepoint; they lodged the complaint, but they were asking for a court order.
“I don’t know how to contact them. I went to Pastor Jerry’s online prayer platform,” she said.
She recounted how she reacted after discovering the error.
“I didn’t see it. I just made the transfer. After I did it, I had to open the receipt. I was screaming. I had to go to the toilet. I urinated. I came out. I looked at it that there was no hope,” she said.
Unable to reach the church directly, Okpara said she resorted to making a public appeal online, hoping that the video would be shared widely enough to help trace the money.
The appeal eventually came to the attention of Streams of Joy International, which said it contacted Okpara after becoming aware of the video.
In a post on X on Saturday, the church confirmed that the funds had been returned after it investigated and verified the transaction.
“We have transferred her money back to her,” Streams of Joy International said.
The church also stated that its direct-message channels and official contact lines remained available to people seeking to report erroneous transactions.
According to Streams of Joy, Okpara had not contacted the church before publishing the video.
It said it had not received any call, email, direct message or formal complaint from her before the video was posted.
“Upon becoming aware of the video, we immediately attempted to contact her through the phone number provided and via direct message,” the church said.
The church said Okpara subsequently responded, after which the transaction was reversed following the necessary investigation and confirmation.
Confirming the refund in an interview with PUNCH Online, Okpara said she had received the full amount.
“100 per cent,” she said when asked if she had been refunded.
She said a member of the church’s staff contacted her at about 6:22 am on Saturday before the money was returned.
“I had to do the video to push out for people to share it, and it happened. And to the glory of God, around 6.22 this morning, one of their staff member called me, and I was refunded,” she said.
Okpara also clarified that her public appeal was not intended to damage the reputation of Pastor Jerry Eze or Streams of Joy International.
“That’s the power of social media. It’s not because I want to do it to tarnish Pastor Jerry’s image,” she said.