A Lagos-based pastor and leader
of Kingdom Fire Ministry International, Chukwudi Okoh, has called on the
Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Christian Association of Nigeria
(CAN), and the Nigeria Police Force to investigate a threat letter purportedly
written to him by some people who claimed to be members of the Ogboni
Fraternity.
In an interview with Punch on
Tuesday, Okoh said he had gone to his church auditorium in the Okokomaiko area
of Lagos State on November 7 for a meeting with other church leaders when he
saw the letter which he thought was a prayer request.
On opening the letter, the
52-year-old Ebonyi State indigene said he discovered that it was a threat to
his life over his involvement in the destruction of traditional shrines and
conversion of some idol
worshippers to Christianity.
The letter was reportedly signed
by two unnamed persons who claimed to be ‘Secretary’ and ‘Akpino Grandmaster’
of the sect in the western headquarters of the group based in Abeokuta, Ogun
State.
The letter, dated November 3,
reads, “Dear Chukwudi Okoh; We the Aborigine Fraternity of Nigeria also known
as Ogboni fraternity hereby warn you against character assassination. You are
warned to desist from destroying our religion in the name of your confession; turning
our members away from our ancestral traditional way of worship. We have sent
out men to warn you on several occasions, but you (refused to) adhere to our
warning.
“We have many reports against you
(on) how you destroyed our temple and burnt our materials of worship (malicious
damage) in Ogun, Kwara, Cross River states. All these reports will be used
against you unless (you) leave us and our members alone. This is the last
warning to you, or else you will run out of Nigeria. We know your house and
your church; there will be no hiding place for you.”
Pastor Okoh, who is also a father
of five children, said he believed some people were out to destroy him.
He said, “I went to church that
day for a meeting when I saw the letter on the altar. I was with three of my
subordinate pastors. I thought it was a prayer request and when I opened it, I
saw it was a threat letter. I reported it to the PFN chairman and we prayed together
over it. I also reported it to CAN.
“This is not the first time I
will be getting such a threat. Sometime in September, a motorist waylaid me on
the road with his car. He said I was disturbing his group and I should stop or
else they would come for me. He then quickly drove off.”
The cleric, who added that he had
reported the case at the Okokomaiko Police Station, recalled destroying some
shrines on the invitation of people who converted into the Christian faith
during some of his evangelical outreaches.
He said, “I am a full time pastor
and I have been in ministry for over 24 years. I have built churches in four
different parts of Lagos, but they were demolished by the government. My
present church location is our fifth and hopefully last building.
“I organise crusades with medical
treatments for my host communities. There are times people confess to belonging
to Ogboni Fraternity and they bring their materials and books for burning. I
have done this many times in different parts of the country.
“There was a former Ogboni member
that I converted. I can’t say I have any regrets because such is part of my
calling,” he added.
Confirming Okoh’s claims, the
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chike Oti, said investigations
were ongoing.
He said, “We are working to get
to the roots of the threat. We believe that with the security put in place by
the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, the people do not have the
capacity to carry out any threat. Attempts by any group to attack a place of
worship will be resisted.
“The CP, however, warns religious
leaders to avoid hate speeches that may injure the feelings of other religious
leaders which can lead to situations like this.”
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