The Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) has denied its involvement in the remand of two former pastors of the Ministry, Messrs Femi Jimoh and Caleb Oloruntele in the custody of the Nigerian Correctional Centre.
The denial of MFM comes on the heel of allegations by the duo in a viral video alleging that they were framed up and locked up by the church for 9 years for offences they didn’t commit.
Reacting to the allegations, the Ministry through its Chief Legal Adviser, Davidson Adejuwon, during a press conference in Lagos on Friday, described the narratives as false, mischievous, and cruel.
According to him, Jimoh, while in the service of the church, was a serial offender at every branch he was posted to serve.
Adejuwon said some of the lies being peddled against the Ministry have created a number of misconceptions among a section of the public.
He maintained that the judgement of the court on the criminal trial of Jimoh and Oloruntele stated clearly that they were granted bail which they refused to perfect.
He stated, “Our aim is to set the record straight and provide first hand clarifications from the individuals who are directly involved with Mr Femi Jimoh and Caleb at the time of the planned armed attack against the church.
By the grace of God, we have three individuals here today who testified in court during the trial that Jimoh approached them to solicit their assistance on how to hire a gun for the purpose of robbing “first fruits” offering of the church in 2008.
In the course of the criminal trial, they were granted bail but they were unable to perfect their bail conditions.
Clearly, all that was expected of Mr. Jimoh, his mother and relatives as well as Caleb and his relatives was to get credible sureties to meet the bail condition which does not include payment of any sum as being misunderstood by majority of people who are not lawyers. Is it not curious to push a narrative that Dr. Olukoya, the General Overseer locked them up when all members of their family refused to get the two individuals for 9 years to stand as their sureties for them to be released?
MFM is a responsible church that takes the welfare, safety and security of all its members very seriously. As such a case of planned armed attack on credible intelligence against the church which could have led to the death of any member is not one that can be treated and handled internally by the church.
We have duty to report such to the law enforcement agency saddled with the responsibilities to investigate and deal with such issues. And that was exactly what we did as a responsible church. All other events that transpired thereafter at the police station and during trial were completely out of the control of the church because being a criminal matter, it became a case between the State and the Defendants.
“The MFM Church and its General Overseer, Dr. Daniel Olukoya did not jail Mr. Femi Jimoh and Caleb Oloruntele or any other person for 9 years or for any period at all. What purpose will it serve or what does the church stand to gain by framing up two of his ministers? It is absurd to imagine that a church as big as MFM will go so low to frame up two of its pastors just because of a claim (which is false) that a Chief Security Officer (CSP), of the church was seen in an herbalist house.
MFM Church and its General Overseer, Dr. Olukoya remain committed to the welfare as well as spiritual and physical wellbeing and development of its members and the humanity at large.”
Corroborating the church’s story, three individuals whom Jimoh approached to help in the robbery attack narrated how they discreetly recorded their conversations with him to save the church from the deadly attack.
The trio, Akeem Omojomolo , Adebayo Fatai popularly known as Aboki and Tajudeen Oseni alias Orji said Jimoh believed they were accomplices in the armed robbery attack because they played along with him in order to expose his evil plan.
Also, Mr. Micheal Olawale Gbadamosi, the Church’s Chief Security Officer, (CSO) clarifies that he has never been to Ogbomoso town in his life not to talk of going there to see an herbalist.