REVEALED: Prophet TB Joshua Secretly Buys A Gulfstream G550 Jet

Pastor Temitope Joshua, the leader of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN), has joined Nigeria’s big league of miracle and prosperity priests who own private jets, SaharaReporters has learned authoritatively.

Widely-known as TB Joshua, the church leader took possession of the nearly brand-new Gulfstream G550 aircraft in April 2015, a few months after a building collapse at the premises of his megachurch in the Ikotun-Egbe suburb of Lagos killed 116 people. Registered as “Synagogue Of Nations,” the jet was purchased using the Bank Of Utah trustee as the front for purchasing the jet.

Pastor TB Joshua’s jet is the most expensive of the four owned by Nigerian pastors. Pastor David Oyedepo (Bombardier Challenger 604), Pastor Enoch Adeboye (Gulfstream GIV), and Ayo Oritsejafor (Bombardier Challenger 601) are also jet owners. It would be recalled that Pastor Ortsejafor’s jet was cited in South Africa for money-laundering money last year. The new Nigerian government is said to be investigating the circumstances of that case, which involved federal funds.

Interior of a G550 jet

Pastor TB Joshua’s jet has already started making the rounds. In June, it left the Murtala Muhammad International Airport in Lagos on a whirlwind of South America, departing north from there to Kentucky in the United States.

The jet, which has US registration number N131LK, was built in 2010. It was delivered to its first user in 2013 before making it to TB Joshua early this year. SaharaReporters learned that the jet made a voyage to Nigeria in December 2013, as the Bank of Utah was apparently pitching it to Pastor TB Joshua. The man of God reportedly asked to see it and bless it before finally taking delivery.

It could cost up to $3 million to maintain the jet annually, depending on how heavily it is used. Sources at the church told our correspondents that Pastor Joshua claims the jet was paid for by at least eight African Heads of State in 2014. It was first kept in Israel before the tragic church collapse in September in which 116 persons, mostly South Africans, were killed.

When SaharaReporters reached Pastor Joshua, he denied owning a private jet. Instead, he said he frequently charters private jets because he travels extensively, noting, for instance, that he has an oncoming trip to Argentina.

His claim runs contrary to information from the Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), which claimed that N131LK is on record as belonging to Pastor TB Joshua through SCOAN.

"What the Bank of Utah does is to help non-US citizens act as agents to purchase aircraft using US financing,” a source at NCAA told SaharaReporters.

The source recalled that the same bank was also instrumental to purchasing jets from Bombardier on behalf of the government of Rivers State under Governor Rotimi Amaechi, and Akwa Ibom under Godswill Akpabio

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Migrant crisis: Hungary declares emergency at Serbia border

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Image copyrightAFP

Image captionA freight wagon was used to seal the border at Roszke

Police said they had arrested 60 people accused of trying to breach a razor-wire fence on the border with Serbia.Hungary has declared a state of emergency in two southern counties as tough new laws to stop migrants entering illegally came into force.

The state of emergency gives police extra powers and would allow troop deployments if parliament approves.

The EU is facing a huge influx of migrants, many fleeing conflict and poverty in countries including Syria.

The EU's border agency said more than 500,000 migrants had arrived at the EU's borders this year, compared with 280,000 in 2014. The vast majority have come by boat across the Mediterranean.

A boat following the most popular recent route, between Turkey and Greece, sank on Tuesday leaving 22 people dead, Turkish media reported.

Starting on Tuesday, the EU has agreed to relocate 40,000 migrants from Greece and Italy to other EU states. But it has yet to agree on mandatory quotas for a further 120,000 asylum seekers.

After the new Hungarian laws came into effect at midnight (22:00 GMT Monday), police sealed a railway crossing point that had been used by tens of thousands of migrants.

Around midday there were tense scenes as hundreds streamed towards the fence, some searching for a way through and others starting a sit-down strike, throwing down food and water in protest at not being granted passage.

Follow Fergal Keane on the Hungary-Serbia border

Image copyrightAP

Image captionHundreds have been waiting at the newly closed border fence

Image copyrightReuters

Image captionHungarian police have started to make arrests

Police buses will now take asylum applicants to registration centres, but if their applications are refused they will now be returned to Serbia rather than being given passage through Hungary, the BBC's Nick Thorpe reports from the border.

Hungarian authorities said more than 9,000 - a new record - crossed into the country before the border was closed on Monday, and that the total number arriving this year had risen above 200,000. Some 20,000 crossed into Austria.

From Tuesday, anyone who crosses the border illegally will face criminal charges, and 30 judges have been put on standby to try offenders.

The laws also make it a criminal offence - punishable by prison or deportation - to damage the newly-built four-metre (13ft) fence along Hungary's 175km (110 mile) border with Serbia.

Mounted police have been deployed along the border.

"We will start a new era," government spokesman Zoltan Kovacs said shortly after midnight. "We will stop the inflow of illegal migrants over our green borders."

But he added: "That also means that the official and legal ways to come to Hungary and therefore to the European Union remain open. That's all we ask from all migrants - that they should comply with international and European law."

At the Brussels talks, ministers said a majority of states had agreed in principle to the idea of relocating a further 120,000 through mandatory quotas, and there was hope the proposal could be finally approved at a meeting on 8 October.

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Vice-President of the European Commission, Frans Timmermans said closing all borders to asylum seekers is ''unrealistic, populist and simply impossible''

The Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary were reportedly among the nations opposed to the quotas.

"There was no consensus, several countries disagreed," Slovak Interior Minister Robert Kalinak said after the talks.

German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said on Tuesday there should be ways of "exerting pressure" on states that refused binding quotas, possibly by reducing the amount of EU funding they receive.

EU states also agreed in principle to a list of safe countries to which failed asylum seekers can be returned - a measure that would speed up deportations.

Germany introduced temporary border controls on Monday. That slowed down the passage of migrants from Austria, where about 2,000 people slept in railway stations overnight.

Austria - one of several EU countries to say it would tighten border controls - is starting to deploy hundreds of troops to help the police deal with migrant arrivals.

The moves are a challenge to the EU's Schengen agreement on free movement, although the rules do allow for temporary controls in emergencies.

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Champions League: Excitement as holders Barca begin defence at Roma

File: Barcelona’s players celebrate with the trophy after the UEFA Champions League Final football match between Juventus and FC Barcelona at the Olympic Stadium in Berlin on June 6, 2015. FC Barcelona won the match 1-3. AFP PHOTO.

Champions Barcelona begin their bid to become the first side since AC Milan in 1990 to retain Europe’s premier club trophy away to Roma while faltering Chelsea host Israelis Maccabi Tel Aviv on the second day of the opening round of Champions League matches.
Here is the rule over the eight matches from groups E, F, G and H to be played on Wednesday:

Group E

Bayer Leverkusen (GER) v BATE Borisov (BLR)
Bayer Leverkusen and BATE Borisov meet for the first time in their opening Champions League Group E fixture at the BayArena. Leverkusen, who reached the round of 16 last season, advanced to the group stage following a 3-1 aggregate play-off win over Lazio. Difficult to break down on their home ground, Roger Schmidt’s side have won five of their last six home fixtures in Europe, and conceded just two goals in their last 12 homes matches. BATE advanced through three qualifying rounds to reach the group stage. It is their fifth group stage appearance but they have never gotten past this round, conceding 24 goals in last year’s campaign. BATE’s veteran midfielder Aleksandr Hleb knows the German side well however having played them 11 times with German clubs Stuttgart and Wolfsburg.

Roma (ITA) v Barcelona (ESP)

Lionel Messi-powered Barcelona open their title defence in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico as they bid to become the first team since AC Milan in 1989 and 1990 to win back-to-back titles. The Spaniards arrive at the former club of coach Luis Enrique buoyed by a hard-fought 2-1 victory at Atletico Madrid in which Messi came off the bench to score the winner to keep their perfect start to the La Liga season at the weekend. No team has ever retained the European Cup in the UEFA Champions League era but Enrique will be looking to get off to a strong start at the club he managed in the 2011-2012 season. Roma warmed up for the tie with a 2-0 win away to Serie A new boys Frosinone at the weekend. The Italians will be looking to put behind them last season’s 7-1 home whipping by Bayern Munich at home on their return to the competition after three years.

Group F

Dinamo Zagreb (CRO) v Arsenal (ENG)
Dinamo are on a 15-game winless run in the Champions League, failing to make it out of the group stage in four attempts. The Croatian champions came up against Arsenal in the third qualifying round in 2006/2007, losing 5-1 on aggregate to the Premier League giants. Dinamo have found goals hard to come by, mustering only four in their last dozen group outings. Wenger says his side, sitting fourth in the league, need to find the right balance between “urgency and confidence” in Zagreb. Theo Walcott, who scored against Stoke at the weekend, is set to once again be deployed as a central striker rather than in his more usual role as a winger.

Olympiakos (GRE) v Bayern Munich (GER)
Olympiakos, under recently appointed coach Marco Silva, are making their fifth successive appearance in the competition, and have proved tough to dismantle at their Piraeus HQ. The Greeks are on an 11-match unbeaten run in all competitions. Bayern, five-time European champions, welcome back Mario Goetze, the Germany international who is fit after missing Saturday’s 2-1 come-from-behind Bundesliga win over Augsburg. But longterm sickbay residents Franck Ribery and Arjen Robben are absent. Coach Pep Guardiola has told his players they must raise their game from their weekend performance to avoid slipping up in Greece. The two sides’ only previous encounter dates back to 1980/81 in the European Champion Clubs’ Cup with Bayern coming out on top.

Group G
Dynamo Kiev (UKR) v Porto (POR)
Returning to the Champions League after missing out for the last two years, Dynamo Kiev aim to defeat a Porto side who are unbeaten in their six visits to Ukraine. Ukrainian double winners Dynamo are competing in the group stage for the 15th time, but manager Seri Rebrov is in charge of a team in the tournament for the first time. Porto, whose manager Julen Lopetegui serves a touchline ban, are looking to improve on last season’s run to the quarter-finals where they were defeated by Bayern Munich.

Chelsea (ENG) v Maccabi Tel Aviv (ISR)
With their defence of the Premier League title already in turmoil after three defeats in their first five matches, Chelsea kick off their European campaign hoping for a morale-boosting victory over a Maccabi Tel-Aviv team returning to the competition after a 10-year absence. Condemned to a disappointing Champions League last 16 exit by Paris Saint Germain last season, the west Londoners, reeling after Saturday’s 3-1 loss at Everton, will be facing Maccabi for the first time in a competitive fixture, although there are a couple of familiar faces at the Israeli club. Maccabi manager Slavisa Jokanovic, who led Watford to promotion to the Premier League last season, is a former Chelsea midfielder, while defender Tal Ben Haim spent the 2007-08 season at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea ready to put the Premier League’ woes behind in the Champions League…

Group H
Valencia (ESP) v Zenit St Petersburg (RUS)
The omens are not good for Zenit in a match that sees two Portuguese former colleagues lead their sides into battle. Valencia’s Nuno and Andre Villas-Boas of Zenit worked together under Jose Mourinho in their Porto days when the former was a reserve goalkeeper and the latter a coach. Nuno leads Valencia back into the Champions League after a two-year absence against a side that have lost every time they’ve played in Spain. Valencia also have four wins and a draw form their home matches against Russian outfits.

Ghent (BEL) v Lyon (FRA)
Hein Vanhaezebrouck’s Ghent are perhaps unique in the Champions League as they would have preferred a tougher group. Denied the chance to take on a Barcelona, Bayern Munich or Manchester United, their debut in the competition sees them tackle it with limited ambitions. Managing director Michel Louwagiue says they simply want to get as many points as possible in the group stages to earn as much money as possible. Lyon, semi-finalists in 2010, will be expecting to take three points to boost their chances of a place in the knock-out rounds, although they are missing injured forward Nabil Fekir.

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