Cyriacus Nnaji, Lagos
The Laity (owners) of the Seven-Day Adventist Church, Western Nigerian Union Conference (WNUC) have called on the Nigerian Police to end the harassment, intimidation and illegal arrest of their members.
Representatives of the WNUC made the demand during a Press Conference which was held at the Church branch at the Low Cost Estate, Ijaye, Lagos State on Sunday, February 13, 2022.
Delivering the paper on behalf of the group, Elder Kunle Falade said “We are calling on the Inspector General of Police to stop his officers’ harassment, intimidation and illegal arrest of members and pastors of the church, and that the Inspector General of Police should investigate Church Officers who have been inviting the Police to arrest Church Members on spurious allegations. They should be prosecuted for giving false information to the Police.”
Giving the Background to the crisis rocking the church, the laity said “Sometime in 2015, lay members of the church wrote a petition to the General Conference (the International Headquarters of the Seventh-day Adventist Church located in the United States) which bothered on many observed atrocities of the Western Nigerian Union Conference President, Pastor Oyeleke Alabi Owolabi. This led to a 16-man Commission of Inquiry which was set up on 14th September, 2016 and headed by Elder Karnik Doukmetzian, General Counsel to the General Conference President. Twenty-six (26) allegations were investigated. Though the Karnik Commission could not be described as thorough, Pastor Owolabi was however indicted on a number of allegations, namely: Illegal and improper production of official church materials; Mindless extortion via honorarium; Dubious extortion and Abuse of Office; Embezzlement of N400,000.00 donation to Retirees; Cost of Personal Properties Owned which are well over his legitimate Income.
The group maintained that sequel to the petition, Pastor Oyeleke Alabi Owolabi, and his group have been using the Nigerian police to harass, intimidate unlawfully arrest and detain members of the church who stand by the tenets of the church.
Falade who represented the Ondo State chapter at the Press Briefing said the aim of the conference was also to draw the attention of the church leadership in West Africa and the World in general to the decadence in the church, adding that restoring the confidence of church members in the sanctity of the church in Nigeria is paramount to the group. It is also to dissociate the generality of the church from the nefarious and sacrilegious activities of an upcoming cabal being used by the devil to destabilize the church and undermine the authority of its constituted upper leadership;
“We are Urging EFCC to investigate Owolabi on the ADRA case instead of limiting their prosecution to the dismissed ADRA Director, FRED OMOSEBI; That the trustees of Seventh day Adventist church as presently constituted is premised on fraud and Owolabi has no legitimacy to remain as the president of the Western Nigeria Union Conference.
The group added that the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists should summarily attend to the crises in Western Nigeria by upholding and giving force to the decisions reached at the 2020 WAD Year End Meeting. “We hate to think that when it concerned the Babcock takeover attempt, it was speedily attended to and scuttled by the higher organization of the Church but we wonder why they have been dragging their feet on the continuous attempt by Leke Owolabi and his cronies to pocket the Church in Western Nigeria Union Conference and run it as a personal business with glaring facts.
“EFCC should expedite action in prosecuting Owolabi for his alleged fraudulent management of ADRA fund; we sincerely hope that this illogically protracted investigation by the EFCC is not an indication of the “Nigerian factor.” The EFCC should know strongly that this is not merely “another case” but one which, depending on how it is handled, stands to either make or mar the anti-corruption crusade of Mr. President.
“The public should remain assured that as a church, we condemn, in very strong terms, every form of fraudulent practices and mismanagement and stand in unwavering solidarity with ADRA Germany and the German Federal Office in ensuring that everyone involved in the scandal is brought to book.
The group narrated “According to the ADRA Germany letter, one of the mismanaged items or contracts included the One Million Five Hundred Thousand Euros (1,500,000 Euros) donated by the German Federal Office. One of Owolabi’s errand fellows who was removed as ADRA Nigeria Country Director, Fred Omosebi, is currently standing trial in a law court. Shockingly, perhaps for the Nigerian factor, Owolabi who was the then ADRA Board Chair was left off the hook in spite of ADRA Germany’s originating letter and evidences from other independent investigations. We use this medium to plead with EFCC to have a rethink in this and save Nigeria from an impending colossal dent of immeasurable international proportions; EFCC, the world is watching.”
The laity also said “The generality of members should remain calm trusting that God is in firm control of His church and believing that the gate of hell cannot prevail over the church,” the group stated.
WNUC, the entity being represented at this press conference consists of church membership in Lagos, Ogun, Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ekiti, Edo, Delta, Kwara and Kogi states.
Those who signed the petition on behalf of the laity included Comrade Friday Aniekan, representing Lagos, Elder (Prof.) Oluseyi Oduyoye, Ogun, Elder Kunle Falade, Ondo; Elder Edeiran Emmanuel O. for Osun; Elder Folorunsho O., Kwara; Delta had Elder Onuruvie; Edo had Samuel Ogbu while Ekiti had in attendance Elder Asekunowo John Olanrewaju.
