Sometime in July 2010, a friend and I were jointly involved in a petroleum product supply business to a company. We received an LPO to supply a truckload of Low Pour Fuel Oil (LPFO). After inquiring on where to get the product, we were directed to a man in Aba. We reached an agreement with him to supply us the LPFO, which he claimed would come from the Kaduna Refinery. He requested full payment before supply and my friend and I pulled up funds together to the tune of ₦2,145,000 and paid him in full.
We received the LPFO and made the supply to the company. Later on we were informed that the product we supplied was fake because it was said to be crude oil mixed with used oil. After the experience, we tried every known means to retrieve our money from the man who sold the product to us. During this period, we discovered that the man was a serving police officer who deals with illegally bunkered crude oil and mixes the crude with used oil to sell as LPFO. At this point, we had to contend with the risk of being mistaken as part of the cartel dealing with illegally bunkered crude oil, yet we also had to make effort to get back our money.
My own contribution to the cost of the transaction was a combination of my personal money, and a sum of ₦180,000 which I loaned from my sister in Canada. The man tried to use his position as a police officer to intimidate us. He refused to refund the money initially, but we held on to the truck he used in making the delivery.
One day in August 2010, my wife came home from church saying that God said that we would recover all and I agreed with her. On the 3rd of October 2010 during the Independence Day celebration service, Pastor Charles gave a word of prophecy that some persons were in the congregation who had done legal business but lost money in the course of the business. He further said that God would restore completely all that was lost in the business. He asked all in such situation to come out. Of course, I came out and he prayed for us declaring that the prophecy would come to pass. I returned home really refreshed because I had really been bothered about the loss of money, loss of business and illegal bunkering of crude issues. After this period, I gave sacrificially of every kobo that came into my hand. By my analysis, I must have given much more in that period, than I had given in the first nine months of the year 2010. Then I began to witness the fulfillment of the prophecy.
The man agreed to refund the money and take back his fake LPFO. He followed up with the first payment late in October 2010 and continued in several installments until he stopped at about ₦645,000 outstanding balance to us. I began to wonder if I would not get all my money back, considering the word of prophecy that had gone out and the truth that God wouldn’t lie. Later, I realized that I had actually confused myself about the whole payment issue. The fact was that, out of the total outstanding money to be refunded, my outstanding balance was ₦160,000 naira, which I had intended making up and paying back to my sister.
All along, I had informed my sister that the business went bad and trapped her money. She exercised an unusual patience with me in paying back. So in June 2011 when I was able to put the money together, I called her, requesting to know how I could pay her. She then asked me if the policeman had completed the refund and I told her no, but that I had saved the money to pay her back. She asked me to wait till I heard from her. When she called a week later, she asked me to give ₦10,000 each to two of my extended family members, and to keep the ₦160,000 for myself. I was struck off balance by this gesture, which I appreciated. Some days later, I remembered the prophecy by Pastor Charles, which guaranteed complete restoration. The policeman refunded all my money but stopped at ₦160,000 of my own portion of the total money and then my sister forgave me the debt of exactly ₦160,000. Indeed it is a complete restoration!
I am most grateful to God because He is faithful to keep His Word. The Bible declares that not a jot of His Word would go unfulfilled. I also thank our prophet who never ceases from declaring God’s blessings to us in the house.
The Bible declares, “Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established, believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper” (2 Chronicles 20:20). I believed in the Lord my God and He has established His word of prophecy concerning me. I believed God’s prophet and I have prospered.