Popular cleric Apostle Johnson Suleman has reacted to actress Halima Abubakar’s public apology, stating that forgiveness doesn’t equate to forgetting.
On X, Apostle Suleman asked people to stop calling him, saying: “Forgiveness is not memory loss! Status quo maintained! AJS”
Halima apologised for falsely accusing Apostle Suleman of various wrongdoing, acknowledging the harm to his ministry and family.
The General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries International, Apostle Johnson Suleman, has warned the controversial social media critic, Daniel Regha over a statement he made regarding the pastor’s assassination attempt.
Daniel Regha had taken to the ‘X’ page to draw the attention of netizens over the fact that nothing had been done about those who were killed in the assassination attempt on the life of the clergyman.
He also stated that everyone seems to have moved on and forgotten about those who tragically lost their lives.
Reacting to this, Apostle Suleman said that Regha intentionally left out the part where the leader of the gang confessed to having been sent, but has continued to drag him over the matter.
He stated that if Daniel Regha makes any more posts about the said matter, he would be forced to invite him to tell them what he knows that they seem not to know.
He wrote: @DanielRegha, We have deliberately refused to feed your trolls or engage your insensitivity.
“You have posted 9 tweets since the issue happened and it’s all documented because you seem to know what we don’t know.
“The leader of the gang was caught and he confessed to being sent, you never tweeted to demand the identity of who sent them to at least show you really mean well for the diseased. But rather you keep interfering with security matters.
“You are free to use your Landlord, Jollof rice, and skits to chase clouts as usual but keep the Apostle out of your idleness. One more tweet about this, and you will be invited by those on the matter to tell them what you know and we don’t.”
Canada-based Stephanie Otobo who last Sunday apologised to Apostle Johnson Suleman for accusing him of having an affair with her, has vowed to name her sponsors in court.
The woman said she has emails and text messages to prove her claims.
Otobo, a stripper and musician, spoke on Tuesday from her Lagos hideout via a video published online.
The video is the third on her alleged connection with the preacher since January 23.
She denied being coerced or paid to make a confession in favour of Suleman.
In the first video confession released on Sunday, Otobo apologised to Suleman, founder of Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide (OFM), for accusing him of impregnating and breaching a marriage promise.
The woman declared that she was sponsored by “very strong and powerful politicians and pastors” to defame the preacher.
In the video, which the church uploaded to its Facebook page, she said: “They paid me a lot of money,” wiping tears from her eyes.
Otobo claimed she accepted the proposal of the unnamed powerful politicians and pastors because she was assured it would help her career.
But on Tuesday morning, a pre-recorded video recorded in 2017, was published by Sahara Reporters, which showed Otobo foretelling her confession.
According to her, the almost nine-minute video was recorded on June 21, 2017 – seven months and six days before Sunday’s video – by Canada-based Worship Media.
In that video, she thanked her supporters before accusing the cleric of pressuring her family and others to lie that the government was behind the scandal.
“This is what Suleman is asking me to do. He is telling me to come and make a video to lie that it’s the government of Nigeria that is putting me up to this. I don’t know when you’ll be watching this but I’m just doing this video for the future. Today’s date is the 21st of June, 2017,” Otobo said.
She claimed she was phoned by Suleiman’s “agents” in Canada, United States and Nigeria, urging her to return to Nigeria and say she was recruited against him.
In another video that emerged on Tuesday night, Otobo debunked the online medium’s report.
According to her, the video was recorded by her sponsors to gag her in future.
She said: “I was not lured, kidnapped, forced or paid to confess. I confessed for my own peace of mind and my wellbeing as a human being.
“How much can the Apostle pay me that will match what I was paid? I am still being offered more by my sponsors.
Otobo said she has had sleepless nights for several months over the role she played in the alleged sex scandal.
She also accused her alleged sponsors of blackmail, saying the video was made in June 2017 in the Canadian home of a certain Chidi, the guy she claimed was responsible for most of her videos last year.
Two days after a video surfaced showing a Canada-based woman, Stephanie Otobo, apologising to Apostle Johnson Suleman for accusing him of sex scandal, another video has emerged contradicting her confession.
Yet, in a third video reportedly recorded on Tuesday, January 30 2018, Otobo said she was not forced to confess of lying against Suleman.
In last Sunday’s undated video, Otobo apologised to Suleman, founder of Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide (OFM), for accusing him of impregnating and breaching a promise to marry her.
The woman declared that she was sponsored by “very strong and powerful politicians and pastors” to defame Suleman.
In the video, which the church uploaded to its Facebook page, she said: “They paid me a lot of money,” wiping tears from her eyes.
Otobo claimed she accepted the proposal of the unnamed powerful politicians and pastors because she was assured it would help her career.
But in Tuesday’s pre-recorded video published by Sahara Reporters, Otobo, foretold her confession.
According to her, the almost nine-minute video was recorded on June 21, 2017 – seven months and six days before Sunday’s video – by Canada-based Worship Media.
She thanked her supporters before accusing the cleric of pressuring her family and others to lie that the government was behind the scandal.
“This is what Suleman is asking me to do.
“He is telling me to come and make a video to lie that it was the government of Nigeria that is putting me up to this. I don’t know when you’ll be watching this but I’m just doing this video for the future. Today’s date is the 21st of June, 2017,” Otobo said.
The woman claimed she was phoned by Suleiman’s “agents” in Canada, United States and Nigeria, urging her to return to Nigeria and claim that she was recruited against him.
Last year, Otobo accused Suleman of failing to keep a marriage promise made to her.
She filed a petition asking the police to investigate multiple allegations against the preacher.
on March 6, the police brought Otobo and Wisdom Godstime, 43 before Tinubu Magistrates’ Court, Lagos, on a charge of blackmailing Suleman.
They failed to obtain a remand order for the duo following Magistrate Bukola-Ayeye’s ruling that there was insubstantial evidence to support the charge.
on March 20, the police re-arraigned Otobo at the same court on a three-count charge of conspiracy, intent to steal, blackmail and threat to life.
The case is still pending at the Igbosere Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.
The President of the Omega Fire Ministries worldwide (OFM), Apostle Johnson Suleman, has lent his voice to the burning issue on tithing stoked by an OAP, Daddy Freeze.
Below is the reaction of the man of God during a church service;
“Let it be clear that if anyone is not a pastor, he has no right to attack a pastor on church issue. He should leave everything to God. I only laugh. Somebody who is not a doctor cannot teach a certified doctor how to go about doing his job; he will just be laughed at. Someone who is not a journalist can’t teach a true journalist how he should do his work; they will just be laughing at him.
“I wouldn’t have spoken on the issue but you don’t argue with a man whose mind is already made up on any issue. It is futile. And I’m not going to confuse anybody to pay tithe, no. if you attend my church and you decide not to pay tithe, it’s left to you. In my church they don’t pay me allowance. I live on my personal businesses and I write books. So far, I have written 52 books that are inspirational and I’m still writing. If you write books that are inspirational, believers and non-believers will buy. It is not as if it is only church members that buy pastors’ books. That alone is enough to sustain any pastor. So, you don’t just jump to criticize any pastor for buying private jets of expensive cars because you think it is tithe that they use to buy them.
“If you asked me, there is nothing wrong with tithing. But tithes should be used by pastors to maintain Christianity, assist the poor in the church, the vulnerable and the stranded. Not that everything should go into the pastor’s pocket, that’s wrong. Every pastor should be on allowance.
“That young man does not deserve a response; in fact, I’m not talking because of him but because my Papa, Pastor Adeboye had spoken, I’m speaking on the issue. Now, if it requires that we go into a debate, let’s have it. Yes, your tithe is not a license to make heaven but it is an acknowledgment of God’s mercy in your life. But because Papa Adeboye corrected the wrong notion and the young man dared to respond to him, I felt it was insulting. This is not about sentiment or emotion, it is about commonsense. You don’t respond to an elder in certain manner, especially a man of Pastor Adeboye’s standing.
“There are things people shouldn’t just dabble into especially when it is not their field. Even if you mobilize the whole world against tithing, you will only end up being counterproductive because this is not your field. Men of God do not need to react to such issues because like I said earlier, once somebody has made up his mind on a position, nobody should argue with such a man. My reaction to such a man is, if that is your position, keep it, continue with what you believe but don’t confuse people to believe what you believe.”
… Alleges plot to silence him
The Northern Christian Youth Network (NCYN) Wednesday alerted Nigerians to the surreptitious and dangerous moves to silence the General Overseer of the Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleman as part of a well-orchestrated campaign to intimidate opposition elements ahead of 2019 elections.
The NCYN in a statement issued in Abuja by its Secretary, Mr. Yunana Jacob, said the two-pronged plan being hatched by the Governor of Kaduna State, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai involves using the Department of State Services (DSS) to intimidate and put away Apostle Suleman as well as trying to cook-up spurious allegations of infidelity against him.
The Christian youth group said El-Rufai’s agents have been recruiting young women from across Nigeria and some other parts of the world to discredit and impugn the credibility of Apostle Suleman in a manner that has never been seen before.
”We have no doubt that from the events of the past weeks, that security agencies have been under tremendous pressure to frame Apostle Suleman under spurious charges to put him out of circulation, for daring El-Rufai over the persecution and killing of Christians by Fulani herdsmen in Southern Kaduna,” the statement said.
Jacob said the group was slow to react to the unfolding drama because it was shocked when the news first broke, but realized after thorough investigation that El-Rufai’s 2019 presidential ambition was at the heart of Apostle Suleman’s travails.
He said Kaduna State Governor’s grand design is to hound his perceived opponents and to ruin every other person’s chances just before the 2019 general elections, thus paving the way for him and his co-travelers to have a field day in running the polls with little or no challenge.
The group warned, however, that Nigerians are very discerning and will easily recognize when an innocent man is being framed for political reasons.
”The days of anarchy, when innocent people were slammed with spurious charges or their reputation dented to satisfy the inordinate ambition of some persons are gone,’’ the group said.
On the attempt to compromise Apostle Suleman’s matrimonial home, the Northern Christian Youth Network warned that it will fail, “especially now that such devilish plans have been exposed by the same girls that have been hired to rubbish the man of God.
”The life of any human being, including Apostle Suleman’s, is in the hands of God. We should warn that human life is so sacred that no one should do anything to take it. That is and would remain our stand,” the group said.
Omega Fire Ministries (OFM) on Tuesday accused Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai of masterminding the recent series of spurious allegations of infidelity against its General Overseer, Apostle Johnson Suleman.
The spokesman of OFM and Suleman’s Communications Manager, Phrank Shaibu, in a statement yesterday in Abuja, said that facts and available intelligence incontrovertibly point to the Kaduna Governor as the mastermind of the allegations.
According to him, El-Rufai decided to sponsor the allegations as a strategy to silence Apostle Suleiman and to take revenge for the latter’s famed audacity of standing against the persecution and killing of Christians in Southern Kaduna.
“It is clear that Mallam Nasir El-Rufai is the mastermind of these allegations. The masquerade has been unveiled and is now dancing naked in the market Square. We don’t need to look any further for the source of the smoke,” he stated.
Shaibu contended that apart from the initial suspicion by the church that the Kaduna Governor may be behind the evil plot, the latest so-called revelation by one Queen Esther, a supposed usher of the Omega Fire Ministries finally uncovered the lid as to who was sponsoring the myriad of allegations against the General Overseer.
“When Festus Keyamo in his first letter to our pastor made allusion to Fulani herdsmen, we dismissed it as a coincidence. Then intelligence revealed that some persons are lodged in a hotel being trained on how to clone Apostle’s voice and crop videos.
“The first question that crossed our mind was who was paying the bills, especially the huge media blitz that has trailed the spurious allegations. We did not have to wait for long before El-Rufai exposed himself. Indeed, he could not wait for long before coming out of the closet,” he revealed.
The spokesman wondered why the said Queen Esther, who allegedly pleaded for the media not to reveal her real identity should give as a condition that the Kaduna State Government must guarantee her safety if the governor had no hand in the plot.
“Why is the said Queen Esther asking for protection from the Kaduna State government. Is the government now the police or the Department of State Services (DSS)? Why did she not mention any other state? Is it not obvious that she is telling us what her sponsors are willing for Nigerians to know?” he asked.
Shaibu argued that it was more than a coincidence that these allegations are coming up no soon after the Senior Pastor had an altercation with the same Kaduna State Government over the persecution and killing of Christians in Southern Kaduna.
He, therefore, urged the security agencies, particularly the DSS to investigate El-Rufai’s involvement in the unfolding saga, particularly the possibility that he may be harbouring a private militia.