Fayose condemns FG’s alleged attacks on Christian leaders

Ekiti state governor Ayo Fayose has warned the federal government to be careful with the way it handles issues of religion in the country in order to avoid religious crisis.

Governor Fayose warns the federal government to treat Christian leaders with care.

Fayose said attempt by armed men of the Department of State Services (DSS) to arrest Apostle Johnson Suleiman of The Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide in Ado Ekiti would have caused serious trouble.

Speaking through his special assistant on public communications and new media Lere Olayinka, the chairman of the PDP Governor’s Forum, accused the federal government of indirectly supporting attack on Christians and other Muslim sects like the Shi’ites.

Fayose said: “Nigerians, either Muslim or Christian deserve to be protected by the federal government, which controls all security apparatus in the country and the moment the federal government can no longer protect Nigerians from being killed by rampaging herdsmen, citizens of the country will have no option than to defend themselves.”

“If the federal government had acted swiftly like it acted on Apostle Suleiman so-called inciting comments when people were being killed by herdsmen across the country, so many lives would have been saved.

“It is on record that the APC in Ekiti State issued press statements and went on social media to disparage the Redeemed Christians Church of God (RCCG) Worldwide General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye just because he praised me when he came to Ekiti. And curiously, it was immediately Pastor Adeboye came to Ekiti State and praised me that he was forced to relinquish his position as the General Overseer of the RCCG.

“Apostle Johnson Suleiman openly condemned the killing of Nigerians across the country and went on to say that Christians should rise and defend themselves if the federal government, which controls all security apparatus will not defend them and the next thing that happened was the DSS moving swiftly to arrest him.

“Isn’t it ridiculous that instead of running after those herdsmen that have killed over 3,000 Nigerians in just one year, the DSS opted to arrest a man of God, who merely expressed his frustration on the inability of Nigeria to protect its citizens?

“Or who should be arrested between those killer herdsmen and Apostle Suleiman who merely expressed his readiness for self-defence and called on Christians to defend themselves if they are attacked by the herdsmen?

“We were all in this country when cattle breeders openly said over 1,000 Agatu people of Benue State were killed because over 10,000 cows were killed. We were also told that the Southern Kaduna genocide was as a result of killing of cows. Up till today, none of those cattle breeders have been arrested.”

Meanwhile, the Omega Fire Ministries has responded to the attempted arrest of the church’s General Overseer Apostle Johnson Suleiman in Ado-Ekiti, the Ekiti state capital, on Wednesday, January 25, morning.

The church’s media director, Dr. Sule Emmanuel and the coordinator of the church’s legal team, Samuel Amune, in a jointly signed statement, said Apostle Suleiman is safe and the attempted arrest that was ordered from Abuja was unsuccessful.