Apostle
Johnson Suleiman of the Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide was saved from
shame yesterday after Ekiti State Governor stopped his arrest.
Apostle Johnson Suleiman
The real details how the Ekiti State Governor, Ayodele Fayose, in
the early hours of Wednesday, prevented the operatives of the Department
of State Services from arresting the Founder of The Omega Fire
Ministries Worldwide, Apostle Johnson Suleiman, in Ado Ekiti has been
revealed.
The incident happened while the man of God was in Ekiti for a
two-day crusade that began on Tuesday. Suleiman who had asked members of
his church to defend themselves incase of any attack by Fulani herdsmen
as the government was unable to protect them.
However, the message he preached was allegedly misinterpreted and
men of the DSS came after him. Fayose who attended the first day of the
crusade was said to have received a distress call from the pastor after
operatives of the DSS stormed the hotel room of the pastor in the
Adebayo area of the State capital and attempted to force their way to
his room.
The security men of the hotel refused them access to the pastor's
room and insisted on knowing their mission. The pastor them put a call
through to Fayose of the situation. Minutes later, Fayose led a rescue
mission to the hotel and saved the pastor from being arrested by the
operatives.
Narrating how the incident happened, Suleiman said, “I came to
Ado Ekiti for a crusade; but I had a premonition that I was being
trailed after I preached that Christians should revenge any attack or
killings by the Fulani herdsmen.
"These Fulani herdsmen have turned many Christians to orphans and widows but the time has come to protect ourselves.
“I received several calls from hidden numbers trying to locate
where I am and I had warned my security not to allow any Fulani man to
come nearer me. So, when the men of DSS came in the middle of the night,
I knew their mission and I had to call the Governor because if they
arrest me, they will put this country on fire.”
While criticizing the DSS for ambushing the man of Godduring a
crusade, Fayose said he expected the security agency to show decorum.
The governor added, “I expect the security operatives to invite
him if they have any issue with him instead of arresting him in the
dead of the night after a powerful and spirit-filled crusade in my
state.
“I personally attended his crusade and I think it is wrong that
a man of God, who is harmless, who could be invited, to be ambushed.
“Are Christians and Moslems under different dispensations of
the rule of law?. That’s why I went there to rescue him. Let them kill
two of us together. But when they saw my vehicles and the crowd, they
fled.
“But we have information that instructions came from DSS in
Abuja that the Pastor should be arrested. We are not in a fascist state.
The Federal Government must learn to respect the rights of Nigerians
and freedom of expression.”
The governor expressed concerns that the Federal Government was
championing a cause to harass clergymen in the country, noting that the
General Overseer of Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch
Adeboye, was harassed and forced to resign shortly after he visited him
in Ado Ekiti.
“This is unacceptable. We are in a democracy and Nigerians
should warn the Presidency against putting this country on fire because
religion is an emotional thing,” he said.
Fayose also warned security operatives against intimidating and
arresting men of God in the interest of peace and religious harmony in
the country, stressing that 'the constitution guarantees freedom of
worship'.
Suleiman later denied instructing Christians in a his sermon to go
after Muslims and kill them. He said people misunderstood him and only
asked Christians to defend themselves.
He said, “They said I preached in Auchi two weeks ago, which
they said implied that I was instigating Christians against Muslims. I
have always been an advocate of peace and I can’t stay around and be
saying such. There are widows and orphans that we take care of. No
leader will see his shepherds being killed and be happy.
“Later, I got anonymous calls from Fulani herdsmen about what I
said. What I said was that if gunmen came around the church to attack
churches, you must defend yourself, but if they come to pray, don’t
attack.
“But they quoted me out of context. I am not stupid, I live
among the crowd and I am not senseless. Time for self defence has come.
Whether you are a Muslim or Christian, someone can’t just come to your
house and kill your children and you will keep quiet.
“I said the Christians must not go after them, but if they come after us, then defend yourselves.”
He added, “If this will make them to clarify what I meant, I
can present the video of my preaching. A town in Aviele in Edo State,
Muslims rushed into the church and chased away all church members.
“I have always been preaching that youths must not kill. It was
even wrong for the police or security agency to be coming around me and
be saying I preached that I said Christians should kill Muslims without
any verifiable facts.
He believed the continuous killings in Kaduna underscored the
insinuations that there was a deliberate attempt in the country to
frustrate Christians.
“This Kaduna crisis confirms that there is a deliberate attempt
to frustrate Christians. The National Assembly must not fold their arms
and see this happen. But I have no grudge against Buhari or the DSS.
They are only doing their job, but the DSS did it wrongly,” he said.
Many people had said it would have been a big embarrassment and
shame for a man of God to be arrested while he was holding a crusade as
his church members would have been left in disarray.
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