Sultan Warns Bishop Oyedepo, Ex-Militants

With a few days to the 2015 general elections in the country, the General Overseer of the Living Faith World Outreach Ministries, also known as Winners’ Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, has been cautioned by the Jamaatul Nasril Islam, led by the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Abubakar Sa’ad III, to stop heating up the electorate ahead of the elections.

According to a Punch report, the group also sounded a warning to Niger Delta ex-militants such as the leader of the Niger Delta Peoples Volunteer Force, Asari Dokubo, Victor Ben Ebikabowei (Boy Loaf), Government Ekpudomenowei (Tompolo) and other militants.

The warning came at a press conference held in Kaduna on Sunday, February 1.
The JNI’s secretary-general, Dr Abubakar Aliyu-Khalid, said Oyedepo and his likes should preach peace ahead of the general elections rather than fanning the flames of war.

He begged Nigerians to stop making inflammatory statements that could jeopardise the polls, adding that all over the world, elections are usually associated with anxieties, uncertainty and tension.

Aliyu-Khalid said: “While all these situations keep growing by each day that come to pass, the political atmosphere increasingly gets charged. With clashes between rival political supporters and thugs occurring at one place or the other, a state of fear of drifting to wide-spread violence as witnessed in 2011, is already setting in.

“For instance, Bishop Oyedepo of Winners Chapel at Ota, was reported to have made a lot of inciting hate speech recently. Tompolo and Asari Dokubo are not left out. This is just to mention but a few.

“The JNI, therefore, finds it necessary to discharge what it believes is an obligation upon itself; that is, to call on all Nigerians to shun violence in any way, in any form and at all phases of the elections and its aftermath.”

The JNI’s secretary-general called on the two major political parties, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the main opposition All Progressives Congress (APC) to abide by the Abuja accord and also accept the outcome of the elections, saying in every election there must be winners and losers.
He also urged Nigerians to shun violence before, during and after the elections.

Aliyu-Khalid called on the Independent National Electoral Commission to be committed to ensuring free, fair and credible elections.


Recall that that Bishop Oyedepo had been accused of saying he will open the gate of hell on those who vote out President Goodluck Jonathan in the forthcoming 2015 presidential elections.
A transcript from the video of the service proved that Oyedepo’s alleged “hell” statement was just a rumour, as there was no mention of such.

Winners Chapel later released an official statement over the allegations made against the founder and spiritual father of the mission, Bishop Oyedepo, giving a detailed memo of what really happened.