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Tag: church

  • Church to hold revival and graduation

    The annual revival to herald the 20 years calling and 14 years in ministry of the Christ Apostolic Church (Ireti Ayo International Revival Miracle Centre) has begun.

    The revival, themed “Alpha and Omega”, will continue on Friday with “Hour of Praise”, and Saturday with “Time for Divine Favour and Success”

    Graduation of students of the International Bethel Bible College (IBBC) will hold on Saturday and grand celebration on Sunday with album launch, titled “Power of God”, followed by a special thanksgiving at 10.30am same day.

    Venue is 8/10, Abiodun Mohammed Street, Council Bus Stop, Idimu, Lagos.

     

  • Church queries govt’s role in land dispute

    Who owns the disputed land on which a church stands at Makoko, Yaba, Lagos Mainland?

    This is the puzzle The Act of Apostle Church and members of the community are seeking to unravel, following the invasion of the church last Thursday by the police and others.

    The others were the Lagos State Task Force on Land Grabbers, and some people described as hoodlums.

    Four persons were feared killed during the invasion.

    A top official of the church, Bamidele Ogunmayi, told The Nation that the federal Government, Lagos State Government and the Coker family are laying claim to the land.

    He said the church, which was founded in 1962, initially leased an hectare of land from the late Chief Adekunle Coker.

    He said when the church grew, they got an approval from the late Coker’s trustee to reclaim four hectares of land from the swamp they are now occupying.

    Ogunmayi said: “We paid to them and they gave us approval. Sometimes around 1971, the late Coker’s brother, Abolade, who is now dead, approached the church that he (Abolade) bought the land from one Shekiri and that Shekiri bought the land from the trustee of his late brother (Adekunle Coker). He did not show us any document that gave him ownership of the land nor did he discuss any issue with us that he is now our landlord. The Shekiri in question never wrote to us on his ownership of the land and we did not see him at all.

    “We never had any dealings with Abolade, but he told us that he is our landlord and he does not want us to have the additional four hectares of land that we reclaimed. The next thing we saw was a court order on litigation on the land and we followed him to court.

    “At a point in time, the Federal Government told us that the property belongs to them because it was a swamp.  We paid to the Federal Government; it was under the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) then; they were collecting annual dues from us.

    “Along the line, Lagos State Government too came that the land belongs to them.  They said we should pay and we also paid to them. They wrote us series of letters about the land and we gave them many documents about the land, which we submitted to the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development.”

    The church, Ogunmayi said, became confused, adding: “We wrote to the trustee to know who our landlord is, but they did not reply the letter nor discuss with us; this was around 1969 and 1971.”

    He said the late Abolade took the church to court and lost.

    “He appealed the judgement but he died and the case was struck out. In 2003, we saw a letter brought by the children of the late Abolade, claiming that the land belongs to their father and they started another case.”

    Judgement, he said, was delivered in 2007 against the church.

    Ogunmayi accused Lagos State Government of having a hand in the clash, claiming it is collecting documents from the church and releasing them to “out to their opponent”.

    He said: “We are at Appeal Court on the matter and some of the process is at Supreme Court.  The police, hoodlums and the task force that came to this community on Thursday just told us that they were from the Ministry of Justice and that they were given order to come and execute judgement; they did not show us anything that they have obtained judgement. They are not Coker; what is their interest in the land matter.

    “The atrocity committed by the police in killing and injuring our people and supporting hoodlums to wreak havoc, deserves an explanation. They gave us no explanations when they came here on Thursday. We have no weapon to fight the police with; we are law abiding citizens.  We want justice. Let the law of the land take its course against the people that violated our human rights.”

     

  • Cleric laments rising cases of divorce in churches

    Pastor Adebola Ogunleye of the Foursquare Gospel Church on Sunday in Lagos said that the rate of divorce among Christians was alarming.

     

    Delivering a sermon entitled, “Maximizing Godly Impact for the Family”, the cleric said family strife was on the rise and urged brethren to address root causes of marriage problems leading to divorce.

     

    “Today, it is no longer news that pastors are beating up their wives and divorce has crept into the church.

     

    “Divorce of convenience is what we see in the church today.

     

    “It is becoming a vogue in church which must stop,” he said.

     

    He called on couples to constantly review their relationships and correct all the wrongs, adding that they should also seek Godly counsel from church elders where there were bigger issues they could not handle alone.

     

    He also warned against wrong counsels and advised couples to guide against external influences that could cause trouble in the home and family.

     

    He urged women to be submissive to their husbands and warned husbands to always love their wives and guide against ungodly ego that could affect harmony in marriage.

     

    He listed factors for having Godly homes to include, positive personal principles, proactive parenting and prayerfulness.

     

    He said that each member of the family had a role to play, adding that they all needed to make personal decisions to make the home work.

     

    “Parents need the principles of Godliness and holiness, children need to have that principle too,” he said.

     

    The cleric urged couples to have positive influence on their children and serve as role models for a better family and society.

     

    He explained that Satan attacked the first family of Adam by causing hatred and division that led one of the children, Cain, to kill his brother, Abel.

    He added that Satan was still attacking marriages and families till today.

     

    He stressed the need for peace and harmony in the home to create a conducive atmosphere for raising Godly children.

     

    “We should not follow the world pattern of parenting, if your child is wearing his trousers like American prisoners and you pass it for fashion, it’s wrong.

     

    “We must let our children know it should be God first, God last, God in between and God always. Teach them to know that God is not an option, God should be everything,” he said.

     

    He said fathers should learn to be role models and not just those who give mandates.

     

    “Children do much more of what they see us do than what we say,” he said.

     

    He called on the church to always organize constant inclusive programs to strengthen the family unit and reduce the rising rates of divorce.

     

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the cleric led couples with troubled marriages to pray for peace and regeneration of their homes.

     

    NAN further reports that the month of May was chosen by the Foursquare Gospel Church, Cement Zonal Headquarters, as its Family Month. (NAN).

  • Four feared dead as police, task force storm church

    Four persons were feared yesterday when the Lagos State Task Force on Land Grabbers led by the police stormed a church in Makoko, Yaba.

    The task force, some hoodlums and the police were said to have stormed The Act of Apostle Church over a land dispute. They reportedly came with over 30 police vans from different divisions, including Adekunle and Ikeja

    They allegedly broke down the fence of the church, and set its hall ablaze. They were said to have shot sporadically, leaving many injured. Four of the injured were said to have died at press time.

    Residents milled last night discussing the incident. Some were in tears.

    Many of the white chairs in the church and speakers were burnt. The ceilings and windows were broken. A tricycle parked in the church compound was also burnt and the glasses of some cars were destroyed. Broken bottles also littered the streets.

    Some residents blamed the task force, the hoodlums and the police for all the damage.

    The body of Kolawole Iwalokun was brought to the community around 5pm. He was said to have died where he was being treated. Some members of the community brought his body to the church, but the police wanted to go away with it. The police shot and sprayed tear gas; people ran away. Bullets were over Kolawole’s body.

    The Nation learnt that some members of the community fought back as they stoned the police.

    An eye witness, Nejo Olanrewaju, said he was in his house around 10am when he saw an expectant mother running into the passage of his house.

    “I came out of my room and saw many policemen with some hoodlums carrying guns, cutlasses and other weapons in front of the church. I walked up to them and asked what their mission was. One of them told another to throw me into the task force van; I told them they cannot do that to me. We engaged in a little strife and one of the officials said I should be released.

    “The next thing I saw was that they started shooting, not into the air but sporadically. They shot into every direction; a lot of people were affected. I rushed to the community head to see what I could do to help. The whole place was destroyed, many people died.”

    Another resident, Levi Ipense, said he ran back from school when he heard of the incident.

    He said: “When I got here, I saw over 50 policemen, with hoodlums and touts with guns, charms and cutlasses. The hoodlums were in task force uniform. I heard gun shots and saw blood stains, many people are dead.

    “Kolawole Iwalokun, 40, Junior Olaranmoye, in his 20’s is dead. Kolawole is married with children, he is a businessman. Junior is a fashion designer

    “A lot of people were injured; the injuries sustained were bad. They were chasing us; we did not argue with them when they first came. It was when we saw that they had burnt the church that we had to retaliate. Being youths, we were annoyed. It was the police that set their station ablaze; they did this to use it against us. They also broke the fence of the police station.

    According to him, what the police came to do is illegal.

    An Executive in the church, Bamidele Ogunmayi, said a land issue led to the crisis.

    “The police have done badly, they have supported area boys, killed four of our people, about 20 of our youths are injured with gunshots, and they are receiving treatment. They have burnt our church, broken our fence. We do not know the interest of the police in land matters. They have impinged on our fundamental right; they also arrested some of our youths.

    “The police were about 50, the land grabbers and hoodlums were about 30 and were in the task force uniform. The police broke our fence, when the youths wanted to ask them what the matter was, they started shooting. We want justice against the people that violated our human right,” Ogunmayi said.

  • …as police deny rumour of fresh attacks on church, mosques

    The Benue State Police Command has described rumours of attacks on four mosques and invasion of another church as deliberate falsehood.

    The state’s Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said that nothing of such happened in the state, adding that such rumours could cause a breakdown of law and order.

    Urging the public to disregard the rumour, Owoseni acknowledged that the insurgency being witnessed in the state was a difficult period for the people.

    He said the violent crimes had nothing to do with religion, ethnicity or political alienation, praying the public to report suspicious persons to the police through  07058344757 or 08066006475.

    He said: “The Benue State Police Command would like to advise the public to disregard information being circulated that four mosques were set ablaze in Makurdi by some hoodlums.

    “Similar information is being circulated that another church was attacked by bandits at Agana village in Mbaloh Ward of Gwer East Local Government Area of the State.

    “These are nothing but falsehood, believably meant to cause break down of law and order in the state.

    “It is indeed a difficult period.

    “However, acts of insurgency being witnessed lately have nothing to do with religion, ethnic or political alienation.

    “Therefore, in order to overcome the ongoing security challenges, the collaboration of all is required.

    “The command appreciates the calmness and understanding of the good people of the state.

    “We appeal that criminal elements should not be allowed to cause any civil disturbance to achieve their selfish interest.”

  • “Don’t block roads during prayers” – Lagos Govt. to religious bodies

    The Lagos State Government on Monday urged religious bodies to desist from causing obstruction in public places or blocking roads during worship.

    Dr Abdulhakeem Abdullateef, Commissioner for Home Affairs, said this at the 2018 Ministerial Press Briefing of the Ministry to mark the three years in office of Gov. Akinwunmi Ambode of Lagos State, at Alausa, Lagos.

    Abdullateef said that causing obstruction or blocking the public road to offer prayers was not proper, as it could endanger lives of worshipers.

    “Let us face the fact; you know I am a chief Imam. There are places where your prayers will not be accepted by God, and this is serious.

    “If you block the road while praying, that prayer is not acceptable to God. Worshiping in the middle of the road and denying other road users is unacceptable and should stop.

    “It has happened before, where people claimed that they were having their prayer and an ambulance was taking a woman to hospital.

    “We fought to disperse all of them, one of them even accused me that I am not a believer, I told him, yes I’m not a believer in obstruction,” he said.

    Abdullateef said religious bodies had no right to block the road during prayers as they did not have survey plan of the road as part of their property.

    “Nobody has survey plan of the road as part of his own C of O. When a Mosque or Church is approved for construction by the Ministry of Physical Planning, you will never see the road as part of your property. So, you have no right.

    “All we need to do is that if you have population explosion, you can pray twice. A group can pray first, the second group can pray later.

    “So, obstruction of public spaces during prayer is unacceptable; even religion does not allow it, and the same thing applies to both Muslim and Christian religion.

    “Whatever we want to do, let us keep ourselves within the ambit of the law,” he said.

    The commissioner urged residents to report Churches or Mosques who constitute nuisance or cause noise pollution during their religious activities.

    “I need to explain the difference between trespassing and nuisance that trespassing is when you carry out what you want to do on a premises that is not yours while nuisance is when you are doing something within your premises and you now extend to somebody else’s premises.

    “We will continue to engage religious leaders in the state because this issue is not about sentiment but the law.

    “The Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), Lagos chapter, is doing a good job in resolving issues like this at the local level to promote peaceful co-existence among religious bodies,” he said.

    NAN

  • Police arrest masqueraders over attack on church

    The Anambra Police Command says it has arrested three masqueraders for allegedly  disrupting a church programme on Friday night at Uke, Idemili North Local Government Area of the state

    The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Mrs  Nkeiruka Nwode, told newsmen on Saturday in Awka that the suspects attacked worshipers at the Holy Ghost Adoration Ministry, Uke.

    “Three  masqueraders have been arrested in connection with the church attack. We have commenced investigation into the cause of the incident and would notify you when concluded,” Nwode said.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) gathered that the masqueraders were celebrating a festival known as “Uzo Iyi” festival.

    Nwode, however, denied that the masqueraders attacked the police officers from Special Anti Robbery Squad, who responded to calls on the breach of peace.

    NAN further gathered that  about 10  masqueraders  invaded the church, assaulted the worshipers and  attempted to whisk away the spiritual director of the centre, Rev. Fr Emmanuel Obinna, but for the quick response of the police.

    A witness said the leadership of the church called the Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the police to help their internal security to protect worshipers.

    “On arrival, the operatives arrested three masqueraders, who were involved in the attack, but their colleagues attempted to stop them from taking the arrested masqueraders away, prompting SARS operatives to shoot sporadically into the air before taking them away,” the source said

    The Personal Assistant to the spiritual director of the centre, Mr Francis Okoye, told journalists that a Catholic Priest, Rev Fr. Henry Nnajiofor, a seminarian and 28 others were injured during the attack on the worshipers.

    “The normal masquerade activities in Uke, to the best of my knowledge, ends by 6 p.m but as at 8 p.m on Friday, the masqueraders were still parading at the entrance route of Uke Adoration ground, extorting money from our members and robbing others in the guise of masquerade festival.

    “As at 8.30 p.m, we started receiving information that some masqueraders were attacking our members, flogging them and inflicting injuries.

    “They flogged some of them, stabbed some with their weapons including machetes, while others were robbed of their mobile phones and other valuables.

    “We quickly contacted the SARS office to assist our Adoration security team, who could not handle the situation at that point in time.

    “When SARS arrived an hour later, they arrested two masqueraders but on their way back, the youths blocked the road and insisted that the masqueraders must be released; that was when SARS officials fired shots in the air to disperse them.

    “When SARS left, they re-grouped  and this time came in their numbers to the Adoration premises, beating everybody including the elderly, the sick and pregnant women.

    “Our Adoration youths, in defence, pursued them and arrested one other masquerader, who stayed in the Adoration ground with us until this morning when we handed him over to the officials of the Nigerian Army, who came to our rescue.” (NAN)

  • Church appeals Magistrate Court’s judgment

    A clergyman, Lana Samuel Sunday, has appealed the judgment of the Magistrate Court in a case that is involving him and one Prince Tunji James Adeniji.

    Sunday, who is the presiding pastor of the Christ Apostolic Church aka Divine Light Garden, filed for the appeal at the Lagos High Court, following the refusal of the present Magistrate O. Olatunji to grant him the leave to proceed to the Lagos High Court, on the ground that processing the case at the upper court takes some time.

    He is praying the Court to set aside the judgment delivered by the Chief Magistrate, Akorede Ajibade, that the church should be paying N500,000 annually as rent on the property, which it is using for worship and allegedly owned by Prince Adeniji.

    In an application filed at the Lagos High Court, a copy of which was made available to The Nation, Lana and the Incorporated Trustees of the Christ Apostolic Church (both defendants in the suit filed by Prince Adeniji) are praying that the Lagos High Court squashed the judgment delivered on the issue by Magistrate Ajibade on the grounds that the case lacked merit.

    The application reads: “The Church has asked for a stay of execution on the case that borders on the usage and non-payment of rent on a property that was allegedly owned by Prince Adeniji.

    Also, the Church has asked that it should be granted leave to proceed to the Lagos High Court to hear the case.

    “This decision to proceed to the High Court to appeal the case is subsequent to the judgment delivered by Chief Magistrate Akorede Ajibade that the Church should start paying N500,000 annually as rent on a property which the church is using for worship and allegedly owned by Prince Adeniji.

    According to Lana, neither he nor the church has any dealings with Prince Adeniji on the issue of the property located at 31, Ajidedidun Street, Ijeshatedo, Lagos, adding that the church was paying N84, 000 as rent annually to the family, which owned the property.

  • Church dedicates auditorium

    The Planning Committee of Christ Spiritualist Church (Incorporated), Aladura, National Headquarters, will embark on a week-long crusade and revival ahead of the dedication of the new church auditorium.

    The ceremony will end on April 29.

    The event, which will hold at 21, Branco Street, Mafoluku, Oshodi, Lagos, will begin from 2pm.

    Speaking on the ceremony, Most Snr. Apostle Tunde Oshin said there would be a week-long revival, including a concert.

    He said personalities expected at the event included Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode, His Eminence/Special General Baba Aladura Prophet Mathew Ola Obe, among others.

  • ‘Nigeria has become a fearful place to live’

    The President of United Church of Christ in Nations also known as HEKAN, Reverend Amos Kiri has said Nigeria has become a fearful place to live because citizens are now kidnapped, attacked in the farm, road or even in their homes by armed bandits.

    He stated this in his speech at the 52nd Annual Convention of the church held in Kaduna on Sunday.

    He therefore called on the Federal and state governments to intensify security and save the lives and property of citizens.

    According to him, recent allegation of compromise by some bad elements among our security forces and subsequent admittance by the Federal Government as reported by the media should be investigated and the culprits punished according to the laws of the land.

    He added that the only way the spate of killings can be nipped so that we can all exercise our freedom to live or move anywhere we wish within the country is to guarantee security to all.

    “While we commend the efforts of the Federal government in the release of some of the kidnapped Chibok girls.

    “We were again shocked when the sad news filtered again that another set of girls were kidnapped in Dapchi. Sadden as this kidnapping is.

    “We are happy that some of the Dapchi girls have been released. However, the report that one of the kidnapped girls was not released along with the others because she refused to renounce her Christian faith may have compromised the good efforts of the Government.

    “I therefore, call on the government to intensify efforts that will lead to the release of all the girls. Additional security measures should also be put in place to safe guard the lives of all Nigerians, irrespective of their tribes, religion or political affiliations.”

    Speaking on the 2019 elections, Rev Kiri called  on all Nigerians to come out and partake in the election of who should govern them, saying If they do not go out and vote,they should  not blame anybody when the wrong person or persons are elected or ascend the helms of affairs.

    “Therefore, I want you to know that your single vote counts, don’t throw it away by refusing to endure and follow the process of election when the time comes.

    “While the drums are beating, the whole exercise begins with having a valid Permanent Voter’s Card (PVC). The question is DO YOU HAVE YOUR PVC? If you don’t have, go and get yours before it is too late.

    “Apart from getting your PVC, I challenge and call on all Christians to wake up from their slumber and partake in politics.

    “No Christian should be deceived any longer about separation of Christianity from politics; Christians should and must vie for positions and be fully involved in government/governance. After all the holy Bible says, “When the rulers are good, the people are happy. When the rulers are evil, the people complain”.

    “However, I urge Christian’s politicians seeking for elective position to do that with the sole aim to rescue Nigerians and Nigeria from ills, evil and the suffering we are going through.

    “This is because the scripture says, “The righteous care about justice for the poor…” As it stands today, what our country desperately need is care for the masses and justice for all citizens.

    “As of the voters, I urge you to be mindful that you don’t exchange your vote for money. Make sure that at all levels (Local, State and Federal government) you vote in persons that have the interest of all Nigerians at heart,” he stressed.

    The HEKAN President  said every  true religion must care for the widows amongst us and  in obedience to this  the leadership of the Church has put in place strategies to take care of  widows.

    He disclosed that a committee has been put in place to come up with workable policy guidelines on how the widows welfare can best be handled at all levels of the church.

    Reverend. Kiri called  for the support of all the church members in this regard, saying the policy is not only limited to the widows alone, but will also include widowers, orphans, the less privileged and the vulnerable.

    Speaking on the Theme of the Convention, the Cleric said in previous years, the leadership of the church under the leadership of the Holy Spirit came up with another befitting theme for the church. The 2018 theme “LORD, REVIVE US AGAIN( is a follow up to last year’s theme).

    “We are in a time that we all need revival. The main purpose of this theme is to let every Christian know that it is possible to be revived again; no matter the situation one finds him or herself.

    “We are serving a living God who has the power and ability to make dead and dry bones to rise again.

    “I am confident that from my messages and the teachings we have received, we are all going back home fulfilled, knowing that whatever is the dry bones in every person’s life has been revived again. Therefore, go and serve the Lord whole-heartedly.”