‘It’s mischievous’ — MFM denies jailing ex-pastors for nine years

The Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) has refuted claims made by Femi Jimoh and Caleb Oloruntele, former pastors, that the church framed and plotted their remand in prison for nine years.

The former pastors had appeared in a video alleging that they were framed up and locked up by the church over trumped-up charges.

Addressing journalists on Friday, Davidson Adejuwon, the MFM chief legal adviser, said Jimoh had serially got himself involved in one offense or the other at every branch he was posted to serve.

Adejuwon said Jimoh was recalled to the headquarters for internal discipline, believing he would change, but he never did.

In a statement made available to the media, the church described the allegations made by the former pastor as “false, mischievous, misleading, and cruel.”

The church said their emotion-laden story had generated mixed reactions among Nigerians, putting the church in a bad light.

The MFM added that Jimoh and Oloruntele had planned to rob the church and cart away its “first fruit” offering in 2008.

The legal adviser said Jimoh had engaged some people, including Orji, Aboki and Omojomolo on how to hire a gun for the purpose of robbing the church.

Adejuwon said Jimoh and others conspired to execute an “enigmatic plan”, which the church discovered and reported to the police, leading to Jimoh’s arrest and that of his co-plotters.

Adejuwon said they were only remanded, adding that after they had been granted bail, their family refused to get two individuals to stand as their sureties for them to be released.

“Clearly, all that was expected of Mr. Jimoh, his mother, and his 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 the majority of people who are not lawyers,” the statement reads.

“Is it not curious to push the 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 planned armed attack on credible intelligence against the church that could have led to the death of any member is not one that can be treated and handled internally by the church.

“We have a 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, 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 as 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 a 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 humanity at large.”

Corroborating the church’s story, three men whom Jimoh approached to join him in the robbery attack narrated how they discreetly recorded their conversations with him and how they were able to save the church from the deadly attack.

Akeem Momodu, better known as Omojomolo; Adebayo Fatai, popularly known as Aboki; and Tajudeen Oseni, also known as Orji, said Jimoh believed they were his accomplices, not knowing that they were just playing along to expose his evil plan.

Micheal Gbadamosi, the church’s chief security officer (CSO), clarified that he has never been to Ogbomoso town in his life, not to talk of going there to see a herbalist.

Adejuwon shed light on the ruling by the national industrial court that Jimoh and Oloruntele should be paid their nine-year arrears of salary because their appointments have not been terminated by the church.