The Nation Newspaper

Tag: prophet

  • Obasanjo: Between an oracle and a prophet of doom

    Obasanjo: Between an oracle and a prophet of doom

    The Balogun of Egbaland who earned this title after his successful exploits at the war front where it was his fortune to accept Biafra’s surrender, General (Chief) Olusegun Obasanjo, is many things to many people.

    Some loathe him for sundry reasons and some love him for diverse reasons. He is an eminent statesman, respected at home and abroad. Some think of him as an incorrigible meddler and a spoilsport whose guts they simply cannot stand.

    But one point is firmly established: this Obasanjo is a man you will be hard at ease to ignore. He’s wont to talking truth to power, like he did with the maximum ruler, General Sani Abacha for which he got a life jail from a military tribunal whose decree was said to have been promulgated in Obasanjo’s time as military head of state.

    Mercifully, we are now under a democratic setting, so the much he could get from the government is tongue lashing for rattling it with his special statement which can be interpreted to mean showing the Buhari regime a yellow card. The colour is still amber and it is hoped that amends will be made quickly so that the amber warning light will not turn red.

    Is Obasanjo becoming an oracle or he belongs in the category of prophets of doom, whose predictions are oftentimes over the bar? The answer is in the womb of time.

  • Prophet brings Arrival of the Master to Lagos

    Prophet brings Arrival of the Master to Lagos

    Prophet Jeremiah Omoto Fufeyin of Christ Mercyland Deliverance Ministry, Warri, Delta State, is set to storm Lagos for the first time with a crusade tagged: Arrival of The Master.

    Prophet Jeremiah, as he is fondly called, is one of the fastest growing men of God, anointed with prophetic messages and healing.

    A statement by the cleric said Lagos was chosen for its population and the people’s closeness to God.

    “Our Warri crusades have over the years witnessed people from all over the world. Now it is time for Lagos to have a share of this unique grace that has been at work in Warri,” he said.

    The event will hold at the main parade gorund of the Police College on Oba Akinjobi Road, Ikeja, beginning from November 23 and 24, with MercyTV Partnership Meeting the following day. Sunday, November 26, will be an anointing service.

  • Ajimobi, prophet with honour

    A prophet is not without honour, except in his own country, and in his own house,” so say the scriptures. This was however not the case for the Governor of Oyo State, Senator Abiola Ajimobi, who was recently celebrated by the Muslim Community of the state in grandeur. The community said it decided to roll out the drums in honour of the governor in acknowledgment of his penchant for promoting religious harmony and for delivering good governance.

    The Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, venue of the ceremony, witnessed an unprecedented gathering of Islamic faithful, scholars and preachers from Oyo State and across the South-west zone, under the aegis of Muslim Ummah of South West Nigeria (MUSWEN). At the epochal event, the enviable award of “The Most Equitable Governor in the History of Oyo State” was conferred on Ajimobi for what the Muslim community called his equitable, fair and just relationship with Christians, Muslims and traditionalists across the state.

    Already, Ajimobi’s closet is replete with diadems from various groups, associations and educational institutions in recognition of his selfless toil and sweat that have changed the face of the state in the last six years. But, the latest award is priceless because never in the history of the state had any governor been bestowed with such a honour by the Muslim community. Among key Muslim leaders that graced the event were the Secretary of MUSWEN, Prof. Dawud Noibi; Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland, Edo and Delta states, Alhaji Dawud Akinola; Chief Imam of Ibadanland, Sheikh Abul-Ganiyy Abubakar; popular Islamic preacher, Sheikh Muideen Bello and Prof. Kamil Oloso.

    The chairman, Muslim Community of Oyo State, Alhaji Kunle Sanni, told the gathering that the award was not borne of “hypocrisy, politically-motivated praise-singing or sycophantic favour-seeking.” Rather, he said that it was a meritorious honour that was derived from the Holy Quran, Chapter 55, verse 60, which reads “with what shall we reward goodness except goodness. Which of the favours of your Lord will you deny?”

    Sanni said: “One day, somebody came to the holy Prophet Muhammed (SWA). He said I love somebody. The Prophet said: ‘Have you told him? He said ‘No.’ The Prophet said: ‘Go and tell him.’ For the goodness that the governor has done for the sake of religious harmony in Oyo State, we want to exhibit the Islamic spirit of appreciation by saying – May Allah reward you abundantly.

    For the records, he said that the Muslim community decided to honour the governor in appreciation of his ‘unprecedented disposition’ to legitimate demands by Muslims when compared with the lukewarm disposition some of his predecessors to such demands.

    Going down memory lane, he disclosed that Colonel Adetunji Olurin (who was Military Administrator of the state from September 1985 to July 1988) was the only governor that fostered harmonious relationship with the Muslim community, since the administration of Chief Bola Ige. He said the late Cicero of Esa-Oke, who governed the state between 1979 and 1983, also maintained a balance between Muslims and Christians and consulted widely among all religious leaders before taking decisions.

    “Let me state without any fear of being contradicted that when Governor Ajimobi first came on board, it was not easy between us. Alhaji Abdul-Azeez Arisekola-Alao (the late Aare Musulumi of Yorubaland) used to settle quarrels between us, because he (Ajimobi) misunderstood our quest for justice to mean Islamic fanaticism of the highest pedestal. However, we wrote a stinker to him one day when we felt short-changed in a board he inaugurated. Instead of getting annoyed, he invited us to a meeting. He said we should convince him that he had been unjust. To our surprise, the governor bowed to our superior argument and included more Muslims in the board.’’

    Another reason the religious leader adduced for the honour conferred on the governor was his decision to acquiesce to the Muslim’s demand for the declaration of a public holiday to mark the first Muharam, the beginning of the Islamic calendar. Besides, Sanni said the governor wormed his way into the heart of Muslims through the composition of a balanced executive council and boards of government parastatals, as well as his decision against the clamour for the return of mission schools to original owners. In a similar vein, he said that the governor had impressed the adherents by permitting wearing of hijab by Muslim pupils in public schools. Although, the governor’s annual tradition of breaking fast with a large population of Muslims during the 30-day Ramadan since 2011 had its blessings from Allah, he said that it could also not go unnoticed by the community.

    Sanni said: “When we asked that our Muslim girls be allowed to wear hijab, we did not say Christian girls should be forced to adorn same. The day we went to the governor on the hijab proposal, he did not think twice before granting our request. That was 10 years after two Muslim governors rejected our appeal. May Allah bless the soul of one of them; the other one is still alive.

    “Since January 1 is the beginning of the Christian year imposed on us by the colonialists, the governor has made history by righting the wrongs that had been done against Muslims for ages.  He has succeeded in maintaining religious peace in Oyo State where his predecessors have failed. That is why he is being honoured. May Allah elevate him beyond his imagination and make him worthy of Aljannah in the hereafter.’’

    Sheikh Bello, who also extolled the governor for advancing religious harmony, urged him to ensure the emergence of a successor that would sustain his legacy projects and complete projects he might leave behind.

    The fiery preacher said, “Lagos is working today because Governor Akinwumi Ambode started from where former Governor Babatunde Fashola stopped by ensuring the completion of all the projects he inherited. I want to beg you not to install anybody who will not sustain your legacy or abandon any project you may leave behind. You are a listening governor, unlike some of your predecessors. Now that they are out of office, they have ruined the chances of any of their family members to aspire to such position again because of their maladministration and incompetence.”

    The governor also received commendations from other speakers, including the Chief Imam of Akobo Central Mosque, Sheikh Abibullah Buhari and the Are Musulumi of Yorubaland, for his efforts at promoting good governance and peaceful co-existence among religious adherents in the state.

    In his acceptance speech, the governor expressed appreciation to the Muslim community for finding him worthy of the honour, which he described as symbolic. According to him, Muslims don’t just give such an award to anybody.

    Ajimobi said that when he was contesting for governorship, he told God that if he would not use the position to worship Him and serve humanity, He (God) should not allow him to win. He added, “I thank God that what we are doing today is a celebration of answered prayer. I’m what I am today because God has destined it.’’

    He used the occasion to appeal to the people of the state to always thank God for His good deeds and that they should always forgive any wrong done to them in order to have their prayers answered. The latest honour, no doubt, is an addition to the bejewelled cap of Ajimobi, who has vowed to sustain the development, peace and harmony he had restored to the pacesetter state.

     

    • Sadeeq is Senior Special Assistant to Governor of Oyo State on Media (Print).

  • ‘Prophet’, others remanded for ‘defiling minor’

    A septuagenarian farmer, James Olatoye, a prophet and two others, who allegedly defiled a 12-year-old girl, have been remanded in Omu-Aran Medium Prison, Kwara State, by an Omu-Aran Area Court.

    Olatoye of Moba Compound in Aiyedun and his accomplices: Adeyeye Suleiman, 35, Toyin Adesina, 35, who claimed to be a prophet and Ojo Olayemi, 20, are facing trial for gross indecency.

    They were alleged to have subjected their victim to an act of indecency by defiling her at various times between 2016 and 2017 at Aiyedun.

    Olatoye and Suleiman pleaded guilty. Adesina (the prophet) and Olayemi pleaded not guilty.

    The Judge, Abolade Banigbe, said: “But for lack of jurisdiction, the first and second accused would have been given summary trial for their guilty stance.

    “Olatoye and Suleiman would have known their fate today, but area courts are not empowered to try summarily under Section 157 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CPC).

    “The accused will have to be remanded in prison custody for the prosecution to conclude its investigation.”

    The prosecutor, Oshage Omoh, had objected to the bail application of the accused, saying they might tamper with police investigation.

    He said the accused and their victim lived in the village when the offence was committed.

    Omoh said the offence was contrary to Section 285 of the Penal Code.

    The case was adjourned till October 26 for mention.

     

  • The Prophet’s medicine

    Preamble

    This article is a follow up to that of last Friday in which the bee was described as ‘The Insect that Heals’. Both articles are a deliberate diversion of readers’ attention from the economic and political   madness of this moment in Nigeria.

    Such diversion becomes necessary as a relief from the current overwhelming tension in a country where every news item is sad and every hope turns forlorn. A worthy columnist must know when to bite and when to blow editorially if only to sustain the readership of his/her column. This is the time of mental, physical and psychological trauma in Nigeria for which there must be a soothing medicament.

     

    Appropriate medicament

    Incidentally, the most appropriate medicament for all ailments including trauma is the one prescribed by Prophet Muhammad (SAW) about 1,440 years ago which still remains as potent today as it was when it was prophetically prescribed. And it will keep remaining relevant for the rest period of human existence on earth.

    Prophet Muhammad’s prescription was a practical fine-tuning of the coded medicine primordially prescribed by the first human being who bore the name Adam.

    Prophet Adam, the primogenitor of mankind, was hardly one hour old when he started prescribing medicine against ailments. He was commanded by Allah to teach the Angels the names of all things which they (the Angels) had confessed not to know. By teaching the Angels, Adam thus became a teacher to the Angels and this made teaching the very first profession of man. But, those in the information sector could, as well, argue that what Adam did was more of information dissemination than teaching or prescription.

     

    First human profession

    There is tendency that a fierce debate might ensue between teachers and journalists on the one hand and both of them and the medical experts on the other over what can be called the first profession of man on earth. But the truth is that all the three professionals are right. By teaching, a teacher informs. By informing, a journalist teaches. And by medicating, a doctor helps to dispel ignorance. Thus, the three professions are mutually complimentary.

     

    Prophet Adam as a doctor

    By teaching the Angels, what Prophet Adam really did was to cure the worst disease in them as well as in man. That disease is ignorance. Shortly before the creation of Adam, Allah informed the Angels that He was going to create a new living being and put him in charge of the garden to be called the earth. But, feigning knowledge, the Angels kicked against the plan and advised their Lord not to do it. Allah then told them in a tone of finality that “I know what you do not know”. (Q.2:31). It eventually took Adam, by Allah’s command, to heal those Angels of the disease of ignorance in them.

    If Adam had not taught them the names of all things on earth, as revealed in the Qur’an, the Angels would have remained ignorant forever. And, Allah’s messages to mankind, as contained in the divinely Revealed Books, would not have come mankind through them.

     

    Categories of medicine

    In ordinary man’s view, medicine is the substance required to cure an ailment. Such substance may be natural or artificial. It may also be as crude as herbs or as sophisticated as surgery. However, it is generally believed that a person does not need medicine unless he is ill. That is why the Western conventional medicine is rather curative than preventive. Illness resides in the body just as ignorance makes the mind its abode. Today, in most cases, people neither go to the hospitals nor take medicine unless they are sick.

     

    Prophet Muhammad’s prescription

    Though unlettered, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had known the different types of medicine before he diagnosed two basic ailments and prescribed two fundamental medicines for them. The first of these ailments is ignorance. The second is poverty. And poverty in this case is not lack of material wealth alone as many people erroneously believe. It is also lack of many things including health and conscience. Thus, in Islam, ailment is basically of two classes: ignorance and poverty. Many people are victims of one. Many more are victims of both.

     

    Analysis

    A person is said to be poor-sighted when he cannot see well without artificial aid. He is deemed poor in memory when his remembering ability becomes weak. He is also pronounced poor in health when some of his body organs malfunction or when he loses some active enzymes or minerals or vitamins. Thus, man may be poor, not in terms of money or material needs but despite his possession of both.

    As an antidote for ignorance, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) prescribed the Qur’an. And for body ailment, he prescribed honey.

     

    The role of the Qur’an

    Qur’an is the encyclopedia of life which personifies knowledge in all its ramifications. There is nothing about knowledge, whether spiritual or mundane, in this world or the hereafter that is not fully explained in the Qur’an.

    By recommending the Qur’an as medicine for ignorance, therefore, the Prophet simply provided cure for the ailment of the mind. And by prescribing honey for body ailments he encouraged elongation of life expectancy through a boost to human immune system. It is not by accident that a whole chapter in the Qur’an (chapter 16) is named after the insect that produces honey. Verse 68 of that chapter reads thus:

    “And your Lord revealed to the bee (saying): Build your homes in the mountains, in the trees and in the hives which men shall make for you. Feed on every kind of fruit and follow the trodden path of your Lord’. From its belly comes forth a fluid of many hues as healing (drink) for mankind. Surely in this, there is a sign for those who can reason….”

     

    Products of the Bee

    Contrary to general belief, honey is not the only product of the bee. There are six others so far known to man. These are: propolis; pollen; royal jelly; bees wax; bee venom and bee bread. More can be discovered as research continues in line with the Qur’anic challenge. Each of these products has specific functions in maintaining and immunizing the human hormone system.

     

    Characteristics honey

    Honey is one of the products of the bee. It is the most popular of the bee products. It is a special fluid with various hues odours and flavours. For instance there are bitter, white and granulated honeys which most people do not know of. Honey is the foremost known natural product that serves as both food and medicine. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, once reportedly told his patients while prescribing honey for them thus: “let your food be your medicine and your medicine your food”. There is no known nutritional value in terms of vitamins, minerals and enzymes that is not proportionately present in honey.

     

    Composition of honey

    A raw, pure honey contains about 80 different substances that are most important for human nutrition. Besides glucose and fructose, honey contains all of the B-complex minerals like vitamins A, C, D, E and K as well as trace elements such as magnesium, sulphur, phosphorus, iron, calcium, chlorine, potassium, iodine, sodium, copper and manganese. The enzyme content of honey is one of the highest of all existing foods. Honey also contains and antimicrobial and antibacterial factors.

    The composition and nutritional value of honey differ in relation to the floral sources from which honeybees do pick their raw materials. For example, a recent research supports the claim that dark coloured honey has larger amount of antioxidants than brown. The inorganic contents of honey, minerals and other trace elements, play a significant role in human metabolism and nutrition. Owing to its chlorine content, honey is appreciated as an excellent tonic and helps people to overcome suffering from constipation and other enteric problems.

     

    Doses of honey

    Whereas no synthetic medicine can and should be taken by any ill person without doctor’s prescription, honey requires no such prescription for anybody who is not allergic to it because it has no side effect. The suggestion in certain quarters that honey can cause piles is based on ignorance. As a multipurpose natural food and medicine, honey can be taken alone or along with other foods albeit in moderation.

    And as an antiviral and antibiotic substance, honey is the best medicine for the eye and the ear diseases as well as tooth ache, insomnia, staphylococcus, constipation, whitlow, burns and wounds. After many centuries of disputing these facts ignorantly, conventional doctors finally came to realize that no medicine is as effective in sealing up surgical wounds and healing sores as honey. Today, honey is used for these purposes in most public hospitals in various parts of the world including Nigeria.

     

    Products of the Bees

    As mentioned above, the products of the bees are seven. These are: honey, propolis, pollen, royal jelly, beeswax, bee venom and bee bread. Each of these products has a potent value in the life of man. For instance, royal jelly is the secret of the longevity of the Queen of England and even that of her mother called the Queen mother just as pollen was the secret behind the strength of a onetime American President, Ronald Reagan at old age.

     

    Honey

    To produce honey alone, the bees make contact with about 250,000 plants picking and metabolizing their flower nectars. It is possible for them to contact more plants depending on the richness of the vegetation in which they dwell. (Nectar is the main raw material which the bees use to produce honey).

     

    Propolis

    Propolis is produced by the bees from the resin of certain specific trees identifiable only by the bees themselves. Through research, propolis has come to be known as the strongest anti-biotic ever discovered by man. This product is used not only to protect the living but also to preserve the remains of the dead as well. At least it is on record that the famous historic Egyptian mammies were embalmed with propolis several millennia ago. This same propolis is the product used by the bees, themselves, to sterilize their bodies against bacteria and secure their hives against viruses brought in by predators. Whenever they sting such predator to death, it is propolis they use to embalm it to prevent its decaying body from polluting the hive.

     

    Pollen

    Pollen is the secret of strength in old age.  It heals almost all the old age diseases like prostate, arthritis, pneumonia and bronchitis. It rejuvenates the nerves and reinvigorates the hormonal glands especially in the aged.

     

    Royal jelly

    Royal jelly is the bee product that prolongs life and solves the problem of infertility in men and women. It is the exclusive food of the queen bee which enables her to lay an average of 2000 eggs per day.

     

    Bee venom

    Bee venom is a natural antibiotic vaccine which strengthens human immunity against all diseases. It works like magic in the human system especially when applied through the natural acupunctural points in the body.

     

    Beeswax

    Bees wax, as distinct from other products, is used to produce non-chemical cosmetics and to coat pharmaceutical and capsules like multivites to protect the potency of the substances used to produce the.

     

    Bee bread

    Bee bread is the lava of the young bees. It is used by the apitherapists to prevent or heal children’s diseases.

    The use of each of these products to heal human ailments depends on the extent of knowledge of apitherapy possessed by the user. (Apitherapy is the use of bee products to prevent or heal human or animal ailments). A specialist in this field is called apitherapist.

    The uniqueness of using these products for healing or prevention of diseases is in the fact that they do not entail any negative side effect because of their natural potency. And that is a major sharp difference between them and the synthetic drugs manufactured chemically by the conventional pharmacists.

     

    Summary

    If most people were knowledgeable about the efficacy of the bee products in preventing and healing diseases, hospitals would have been less congested and substantial percentage of their incomes would have been saved to enhance the quality of their lives. The world of bees is a wonderful world. It takes only those who know it to appreciate it and benefit from its healing miracle.

    Through divine instinct, Prophet Muhammad (SAW) had known this almost one and a half millennia ago and he had recommended it to mankind for their survival. The case of the bee and honey is like that of the hen and the egg. No one can tell with precision which of them first came into existence. The fact that honey is still a subject of scientific research today is a further confirmation that the prophecy of the unlettered Arabian man called Muhammad (SAW) is truly divine.

     

    Conclusion

    Without the bee there can be no honey. And without honey, the bees cannot exist since honey is the food upon which they depend for survival.

    The story of the insect called bee is inexhaustible despite centuries of research on it. It is therefore impossible to tell it all in a one page column of this type. That Prophet Muhammad (SAW) knew this much even as an unlettered person at a time when the world was assailed by blatant ignorance and primitivism is a further confirmation of Michael Hart’s classification of him as the greatest human being that ever lived.

     

    Information

    Four Muslim brothers across three Universities successfully delivered their inaugural lectures recently. They are Professor Lai Olurode of the Socology Department, University of Lagos; Professors Ishaq Lakin Akintola and Lateef Adetona of Religious Studies Department, Lagos State University, Lagos, Nigeria and Professor Fehintola of the College of Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria. The Message Column joins many well wishers in congratulating them all and in wishing them further higher pedestals in their respective academic careers. Amin.

  • Police arrest ‘prophet’, 55 others for crimes

    The Ogun State Police Command has arrested 56 suspected criminals, including a “Prophet” Kehinde Onayiga, said to have abducted an 11-year-old girl for ritual.

    Police Commissioner Ahmed Iliyasu, who paraded the suspects yesterday at the command headquarters in Abeokuta, the state capital, said joint efforts of Operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Police Mobile Force (PMF), conventional policemen and Anti-Kidnapping/Cultism units led to arrest of the suspects.

    Iliyasu said the suspects were picked up at different locations, adding that the police command will continue to “deploy tactical and covert operatives to combat criminals in Ogun State”.

    Although Onayiga and his suspected accomplice, Musliu Jubril, were apprehended for alleged abduction, their victim has not been found.

    Onayiga, who was paraded with his fetish objects, including ram horns wrapped in a red piece of cloth, allegedly commissioned Jubril to abduct the girl for ritual on behalf of Yahoo Boys.

    The “prophet” told reporters that he was from the Cherubim and Seraphim Church at Agbotijesu Parish on Waterworks Road in Sagamu, but denied sending Jubril to abduct anyone.

    The cleric said he had been conducting spiritual matters in the last 18 years, adding that his clients often consulted him for healing.

    Onayiga said he never had Yahoo Boys as clients.

    But Jubril maintained that Onayiga commissioned him to look for a virgin for a ritual for some Yahoo Boys.

    The suspect claimed the “prophet” pledged to pay N20,000 if he could procure a young girl, besides helping him to travel abroad.

    According to him, he delivered the victim to Onayiga on July 21.

  • My husband fingers our daughters’ genitals, Prophet’s wife tells Court

    My husband fingers our daughters’ genitals, Prophet’s wife tells Court

    A Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) prophet, Sunday Afolabi, has been accused by his wife, Susan, at an Ado-Ekiti Magistrate’s Court of sexually abusing their daughters.

    Susan alleged that Afolabi was caught inserting his fingers into the private parts of their female children while sleeping in the midnight.

    The woman also accused her husband of doing same for female church members whenever they come for night vigils resulting in members avoiding him.

    The prophet had petitioned the court seeking the dissolution of the 21-year-old marriage accusing his wife of masterminding an assassination attempt on his life, fighting him in public, destruction of church property and instigating the children against him.

    He alleged that his wife threatens his life and fights him with dangerous weapons whenever a disagreement ensues between them.

    But the wife in her response also accused the prophet of smoking Indian hemp, drinking local gin popularly called “ogogoro.”

    She said her husband’s behaviour led to the collapse of the church as people call Afolabi “Indian hemp prophet.”

    Susan told the court that she had two children, Emmanuel (male) and Ifeoluwa (female) from previous marriage whom she brought to the prophet’s home and later bore him five children.

    Giving account on how the prophet was caught in the act, Susan said: “One morning Ifeoluwa who is just 12 years old told me that Sunday came at night to insert his finger into her vagina and I immediately rebuked her and told her to shut her mouth.

    “But the eldest, Emmanuel said he disguised as Ifeoluwa and slept at the same position she normally sleeps and also used her cover cloth to cover his body.

    “When Sunday came as usual and attempted to insert his finger then discovered the person under the cloth is a boy he left hurriedly.

    “One night I also caught him myself; my husband was completely naked and attempted to have sex with one of the female children. He knelt down and was begging me that night that I should not let people outside know what transpired. He even said he didn’t know what came
    over him.

    “People have been saying it that he harassed females during the night vigils in church. This man you are looking likes sex so much. I even attempted to marry more four wives for him which he turned down.

    “He also smokes. There was a day he gave Emmanuel Indian hemp to smoke; he even wrapped Indian hemp in the presence of my twins and take local gins. Each time I challenged him he do say he is taking it because of the cold weather.”

    President of the court, Mrs Olayinka Akomolede, after listening to both parties, adjourned the matter to 31st of August for judgment.

  • ‘Prophet’ arraigned ‘for possessing human skull’

    A self-acclaimed prophet, Isaiah Alumni, was yesterday arraigned before an Iyaganku Magistrates’ Court in Ibadan, Oyo State, for being in possession of a human skull.
    Alumni, 55, was arrested in Sango, Ibadan on May 5 when policemen carried out a search of the commercial vehicle which he boarded.
    The prosecutor, Mr. Sunday Ogunremi, said the accused was on May 5, about 09.10pm on Sango Road, Ibadan did unlawfully have in his possession one human skull.
    Alimi told the police he got the skull in an area in Lagos after a bulldozer was used to clear a portion of land.
    The Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Abiola Richard, granted the accused bail at N75,000 with two sureties. She adjourned the case till June 28 for hearing.
    But the accused was remanded in Agodi prison for failing to meet the bail conditions.

  • I’m innocent, says ‘prophet’ accused of N70m fraud

    I’m innocent, says ‘prophet’ accused of N70m fraud

    Controversy is trailing the arrest and detention of a Lagos-based prophet of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) who is also a traditional chief in Ado-Ekiti, Femi Oladele, by the Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU) for allegedly defrauding a woman, Mrs. Mojisola Omokaro, to the tune of N70 million. The prophet has denied defrauding Mrs. Omokaro while the woman also claimed that Oladele did not defraud her. But the husband, Mr. Peter Omokaro, said the matter is still under investigation. ODUNAYO OGUNMOLA reports.

    ‘The matter is between me and my husband, the man accused by my
    husband was our saviour during our trying period. He is a prophet and not a fraudster as my husband had lied against him… He said that I should change my statement in order to indict the prophet, but I told him I can’t work against my conscience’

    A Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) Prophet, Femi Oladele, has denied defrauding a woman who sought his spiritual assistance, Mrs. Mojisola Omokaro, of N70 million, a Highlander Jeep and three houses, which landed him in police custody.

    Oladele, who addressed a press conference in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, earlier in the week in reaction to a story in a national daily that he defrauded the woman of the money, a 2010 Toyota Highlander SUV car and three houses.

    The prophet, who is an Ado-Ekiti traditional chief, said the reporter, who wrote the story did not hear his own side before publishing same which necessitated his own reaction.

    Oladele further explained that he already had a bungalow on his plot of land before Mrs Omokaro came and assisted him in the construction of his four bedroom duplex on the remaining space on the plot of land.

    He said he spent almost N40 million to complete the said bungalow, out of which Mrs. Omokaro paid about N22 million into his account in various installments.

    Oladele also claimed that some unknown individuals attacked him in Lagos. Oladele, who was based in Lagos, said he enjoyed a good relationship with members of the family of the Omokaro because of what God has used him to do several problems God has used him to solve within the family.

    According to him, a friend of Mrs. Omokaro, popularly called Iya-Ibeji, brought her to his church in Oke-Ira, Ogba in Lagos State to seek spiritual solution to 14-year-old menstruation problem after she had sought medical solutions without any remedy.

    Oladele said: “When she came, I told her that I would collect N98,000 for materials, out of which she gave me N35,000, but because of the person that brought her, I went ahead to source for money for the work to commence.

    “The unceasing flow of blood, which she had been battling with for 14 years, stopped after two weeks of my spiritual assistance to her.

    “In appreciation of what God used me to do for her, Mrs. Omokaro bought a Toyota Highlander 2010 model for me.

    “I had a land at Ijoko-Otta, where I had already erected a bungalow and she asked me what I wanted to use the remaining land for and I told her I wanted to erect a structure on the land whenever God blesses me.

    “The same Mrs. Omokaro brought her own bricklayer there and after series of inspection and discussion with the bricklayer, they left.

    “Shortly after the visit, she called me that the bricklayer will come and start work, but on my instruction and plan to build the house, promising to be sending money to my account.

    “The house, a four-bedroom duplex was built in my name and I have the Certificate of Occupancy (C of O) and building plan. The Toyota Highlander was bought and registered in my name.

    “I did not, at any time, defraud Mrs. Omokaro or any member of the family; she willingly did it for me in appreciation of the 14-year-old problem God used me to solve in her life.

    “There was a time her husband, Mr Peter Omokaro called me and said he had a problem at his place of work and with my spiritual intervention and prayer, he overcame and in appreciation, asked his wife to give me N1 million, which she later sent to my account.

    “Shortly after that, the husband called me and said I should stay clear of his family. I told the wife about the matter and she pleaded with me not to hands off based on what I had done for the family in the past.

    “Though, I don’t know why the wife asked and warned me not to go and see her husband, but several times, called to warn me not to go and see him.

    “Because I did not go to see the husband, following the warning of the wife, the husband used to call to threaten me and not long after, I was attacked by unknown persons, who inflicted wounds on me.

    “When my life was under threat, I had to relocate to Ado-Ekiti.

    “On April 4, this year, men of the Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU) from Lagos stormed my home in Ajebamidele, Ado-Ekiti with search warrant and nothing incriminating was found in my residence.

    “They took me to Lagos, accusing me of defrauding one Mrs. Omokaro to the tune of N70 million and listed other things, but I told them that I did not defraud anybody and they are free to call Mrs Omokaro and ask her before me.

    “I was detained in the police cell for 16 days and my health deteriorated, my blood pressure rose and I almost died there.

    “My main concern was that I should not die in police cell for me to tell my own side of the story and the policemen said I must hand over the house built in my name and the Toyota Highlander SUV.

    “I told them that I am ready to relinquish the house and the car, at least for me to regain my freedom. The policemen at Special Fraud Unit demanded N2 million for my bail, but I was able to raise N750,000 after which I was released.

    “My phone was seized by the police at the unit and till this moment, they have not released it to me and this has put me out of circulation as all my contacts are on the phone.

    “I want to put the record straight that I did not defraud Mrs. Omokaro or any member of his family.

    “I did not defraud anybody for that matter; all she did for me was voluntary and in appreciation of the spiritual assistance that God used me for her and other members of her family, such as the husband and their three children.

    “All that was written in that newspaper report were lies, there was no time I defrauded the woman.

    “The total amount Mrs. Omokaro sent into my account to develop the house was N22 million, but the money that completed the house was about N40 million.

    “I am not a fraudster, I have my name and image to protect. I am a High Chief in my home town and I have been in the ministry for the past 23 years, where God has used me to assist so many people who had various problems.”

    Speaking on telephone when contacted for her reaction, Mrs. Mojisola Omokaro accused her husband of being behind the plight of Oladele, describing Oladele as her saviour in her time of trouble.

    She advised the police not to unnecessarily maltreat the man of God in order not to incur the wrath of God, saying “the main problem is between me and my husband.”

    Her words: “The matter is between me and my husband, the man accused by my husband was our saviour during our trying period. He is a prophet and not a fraudster as my husband had lied against him.

    “The problem has been on for a very long time, it is only unfortunate that this man is being treated in this manner; he deserves to be commended by my family for the role God has used him to play in our family and not to be condemned.

    “I bled for over 14 years and most times, I will collapse and people will rush at me and rescue me, but sometime in 2007, I told my husband that I wanted to commit suicide that I am tired of this life.

    “I have been to several places seeking for solutions, but I was advised not to undergo any operation, that it was a problem that could be solved spiritually and not with orthodox medicine. It was at that point that one of my friends, we call her Mama Ibeji took me to this prophet.

    “It was precisely September 13, 2007 and within two weeks that I met him, my problems stopped. At that time, I also had problems with my son and daughters. God also used this same prophet to solve them.

    “I bought an SUV car for him, assisted him in his four-bedroom duplex that was of his dream then, and since then we have been family friends.

    “When this problem began, I was in my town, Owo in Ondo State, but had to rush to Lagos, because I cannot go against my conscience.

    “My husband said this prophet was a scam. When he had problems in his former workplace, (a bank), he ran to this same prophet and his problems were solved, even he could not believe it because he had spent a lot of money on the problems then.

    “I kept appealing to him to ask the police to release the prophet, he said until he surrenders all my properties in his possession and I told him that I voluntarily bought those things for him and not that he asked for them.

    “He said that I should change my statement in order to indict the prophet, but I told him that I can’t work against my conscience, even as I told him that this man has been the one God has been using for us in the family.

    “But because I refused to change my statement, as I speak with you, he has sent me out of the house. So, I am no longer under his roof.

    “He has three wives, but I am the first and the only one that has children for him. That is my story. Please, appeal to him to leave the innocent and saviour of myself and my children alone. The man is innocent and not a scam as he had told the police.

    Contacted on telephone for his reaction, Mr. Omokaro said the matter is still under investigation by the police. He said Prophet Oladele was investigated and granted bail while investigation into the matter still continues.

    When asked to react to the claim of his wife that she voluntarily gave the prophet money in appreciation of what he (Oladele) did for her and the family, Mr. Omokaro fired back: “Do you give what you don’t have? Do you give what you don’t have?  The money in question is her family business money and the police are investigating that.

    “They (police) Special Fraud Unit is an independent body and whatever they say to the public on this matter is more reliable. If the police give you a fact, do you have to doubt that? I will advise you to ignore them (Prophet Oladele and Mrs. Omokaro).”

    Omokaro said efforts are already on to find an amicable solution to the face-off with his wife, revealing that a mediator is already working to resolve the feud.

    He said further: “This is a woman that has three children for me and the oldest is 31 years. We have been married for the past 32 years. You know that I cannot sue my wife and that is why we are seeking an amicable solution through mediation.

    “It really happens sometime. I will not join issues with somebody that has children for me and who has lived with me for 32 years. I will let go.

    “If we have gone to mediation, I don’t want it to be a press issue again so as not to violate the agreement that we should not speak with the press during the mediation process.”

  • ‘Prophet’ held for dollar ‘theft’

    ‘Prophet’ held for dollar ‘theft’

    A money changer Moses Edwin, has been arrested by Rapid Response Squad (RRS) operatives for allegedly stealing $500 from a customer.
    Edwin, according to a statement by RRS, stole the money from $5000 given to him by lookmen Adebayo to change to naira.
    Edwin, 50, a self-styled prophet, was arrested beside Airport Hotel, Ikeja with an associate three days after the incident.
    Adebayo, a Corps member serving in Lagos, went to change the money for his mother.
    He and Edwin settled for an exchange rate of N387 to a dollar.
    But while Edwin and Daniel Ebhohimen were counting the money, they allegedly removed $500 from it and told Adebayo that it was incomplete.
    RRS quoted Adebayo as saying: “I was trying to help my mum change the $5,000. I got to Airport Hotel and I met these men. After negotiating back and forth, they offered me N387 to a dollar. They took my details on the ground that the transaction was going to be online. Edwin requested that I surrender the $5,000 bills for them to confirm. Reluctantly, I gave them but I was monitoring them and I was counting along with them in my car.
    “They were mid-way into the counting when another member of the gang distracted me from the driver’s side of my car. Thereafter, they handed back the money to me that it was complete and we headed to one of the banks in Opebi. We entered the bank. All along they prevented me from counting the money. At the bank, they told me the rate they gave me was no longer possible and that they were backing out but I offered for a renegotiation. I told them to excuse me and I went into the gents to confirm the money. I counted it and $500 was missing. Before I could come out they had run away. The door attendants told me he saw them rushing out of the bank.
    “I went to where I met them but I couldn’t see them. It was on the third day that I saw Edwin and I invited the police.”
    Edwin was said to have confessed to the crime. According to RRS, he said he never followed the gang to bank, adding that he only ordered his other gang members to finish up the transaction.
    He said he was given N10,000 when they returned from the bank.
    Edwin, the RRS said, has agreed to pay back the ‘missing $500.’
    The suspects have been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) at Panti, Yaba, Lagos Mainland.