A single mother of two, Sandra Okpara, has recovered ₦1,640,200 she mistakenly transferred to an account linked to Pastor Jerry Eze’s Streams of Joy International, a day after a video appeal she posted online went viral.
Okpara said in the video, which she shared on social media on Friday, that the money did not belong to her but was meant for people she was expected to pay. She appealed to anyone connected to the church to help trace the funds.
“This money is not my money. I cannot do offering of ₦1,640,200. Please help me trace the accounts,” she said.
Okpara told The Telegraph on Saturday that she had made a ₦1,000 transfer to the church earlier on Friday as an offering before intending to send another payment of more than ₦1.6m to a Zenith Bank account.
“My hand just clicked that one. Before God and man, it was erroneous,” she said.
She said she first visited Zenith Bank after discovering the mistake but was unable to recover the money.
“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.
Okpara said she only realised the error after opening the transfer receipt.
“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.
She subsequently made a public appeal, hoping the video would be widely shared and help her trace the money.
The appeal drew 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 said it had refunded the money after investigating and confirming the transaction.
“We have transferred her money back to her,” the church said.
The church added that its direct-message channels and official contact lines remained open to reports of erroneous transactions.
It said it had not received any call, email, direct message or formal complaint from Okpara before she published the video.
“Upon becoming aware of the video, we immediately attempted to contact her through the phone number provided and via direct message,” the church said.
According to the church, Okpara subsequently responded, and the transaction was reversed after the necessary investigation and confirmation.
Speaking to The Telegraph after receiving the refund, Okpara confirmed that the money had been returned.
“100 per cent,” she said when asked if she had received the refund.
She said the refund was made at about 6:22 a.m. on Saturday after a member of the church’s staff contacted her.
“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 members called me, and I was refunded,” she said.
Okpara stressed that her intention was not to damage the reputation of the church or its founder.
“That’s the power of social media. It’s not because I want to do it to tarnish Pastor Jerry’s image,” she said.
