This seems to be a time of comeuppance for wanton Nigerian pastors. The salacious tales of sex that trailed, in recent time, Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly, Abuja, and Apostle Johnson Suleman, founder and General Overseer of the Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, Asaba, Delta State, are still hot-button issues in religious and social circles. While Fatoyinbo was, in 2014, frontally accused of sexual liaison by the victim, to which he said he would issue a ‘robust reply’ (he still hasn’t), Apostle Suleman’s love victim, Stephanie Otobo, a Canada-based Nigerian singer has dragged him to court for breaking his promise to marry her, seeking $5million Canadian dollars for damages resulting from alleged breach of trust, breach of fiduciary relations, breach of contract, negligence, defamation, poisoning, intentional and negligent infliction of emotional stress.
The case is still in court. This time, it is the turn of Our Daily Manna Prayer Ministry, Pastor Chris Akpovwe, who has been accused by a member of his ministry, Rita Abeni, for making sexual advances at her. Rita has caused to be released different recorded telephone conversations from the pastor to her. In the released recordings, the pastor could be heard boasting about his sexual prowess, how he could marry Rita because even his wife, whom he addressed as mummy, was fond of her and all such.
However, the church, typically, has released a statement, “We want to state without any element of equivocation that the voice messages referred to above and others like it are not from Bishop (Dr.) Chris Kwakpovwe. They are the handiwork of satanic agents who are employing the aid of technology to cause distraction and havoc in the body of Christ. We enjoin the church and the general public to disregard it.” Time will tell.
