DSS Arrests Nigerian Televangelist, Apostle Suleiman after Crusade at Ado-Ekiti
LAGOS JANUARY 25TH (URHOBOTODAY) – The General Overseer of the Abuja-based Omega Fire Ministries International, Apostle Johnson Suleiman has been arrested and taken into custody by officials of Nigeria’s secret police, the Department of State Services (DSS) in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, after a crusade he hosted in the capital.
The outspoken preacher and televangelist had in an undated video recorded during a Sunday service packed with Omega Fire members called for the killing of any Fulani herdsman that strays into the church premises, stating that he was earlier told of a plan by Fulani herdsmen to attack his convoy and shoot him.
Suleiman has been very critical of the recent killings of Christians in Southern Kaduna by herdsmen during his sermons and has encouraged retaliation.
THEWILL gathered that he was arrested late Tuesday night at MIDAS hotel where he and other senior church members were lodged for the 2-day crusade and transported to a yet to be determined location.
In the footage where he made reference to the Southern Kaduna killings, Suleiman narrated; “Somebody called me on phone and said: ‘are you alone?’ I said yeah. He said I want to talk to you. I said what is it. He said there is a plan to send Fulani herdsmen after you. I said after who? He said after me. He said I’m telling you to be careful. I said careful of what? He said they are going to run into the road like herdsmen and cause some confusion and when your security men are trying to clear them, clear them, you will come out and the will open fire. I said Okay”.
He continued that the same person called him about two weeks later to inform him that herdsmen have now planned to attack his church premises, adding that after he received the call he instructed his members to kill any Fulani herdsmen they see around the church.
“I have told them in the church here that any Fulani herdsman that just enters by mistake and want to pretend, kill him. Kill him. Cut his head. If they are busy killing Christians and nothing is happening, we will kill them and nothing will happen, he said pumping with emotions,” said the controversial Evangelical preacher.
The transcript of a portion of the video goes thus; “If they are busy killing Christians and nothing is happening, we will kill them and nothing will happen. I said I’m not going to talk this year, so let me not talk. Am I talking to somebody here? ‘Apostle why are you saying we should kill somebody?’ Didn’t David kill Goliath? Was that spiritual?”
“Many people in Kaduna are now widows. Many are now fatherless. Many are orphans because some people think they own power. Kill them. Am I talking to somebody here? Are we Christians? Yes. Are we believers? Yes? You can’t be widows, you can’t be widowers because of some devilish people that say they have a religion? Now they are shouting Biafra wants to go, Biafra wants to go. Why won’t they want to go when you think that the North own the country. Every security, every position is from the North. Very soon south-south will start their own and say they want to go. Let’s leave your cattle for you.
“We have lawyers here. We have some lawyers in the crowd. There is a lawyer here. 212 people in Kaduna are dead. Nobody is prosecuted. Not one. River State election, few people died now there is a panel of enquiry because it is South-South. In a state, when 50 people died they will declare a state of emergency. Two hundred and two people died and one short devil that calls himself a governor is moving about and no state of emergency. They caught a Boko Haram member, before we woke up they said he has escaped. Escaped! And Biafran agitators are still in prison now and they have not escaped. But Boko Haram members Escaped!”