Living Faith Church Founder, Bishop Oyedepo react to video urging members to ‘kill’

The Living Faith Church Worldwide International
(Winners’ Chapel International) and founder
Bishop David Oyedepo has said that video of the
founder asking the church members to kill
suspected “militants” who go near his church
was shot in 2015.
The Church through the Chairman of the
Church’s Editorial & Media Board, Sheriff F.
Folarin, said the the Bishop was not reacting to
the current hostilities between Christians and
Muslims in southern Kaduna and the video
“For the records and for posterity, Bishop
Oyedepo will not say any of those things in view
of current dire straits in which Nigeria has found
itself. There are too many problems at hand,
which require divine intervention. He will not
add to the throes and utter such divisive words.
The said video.
“Bishop Oyedepo has not said, either in private
or public, anything related to the Southern
Kaduna killings: not now, not hitherto. If there
has been anything done, it has been prayer for
peace and unity of Nigeria. The intent of the
original author(s) or fabricators is best known to
them the church said.
The church further said that the reports are
‘fake, unbelievably and maliciously fabricated
and outright lies. They are tweaked, baseless,
and fraudulent.
“Our attention has been drawn to a salacious
piece of fake news in mainstream and social
media platforms, that Bishop David Oyedepo,
Founder and President of Living Faith Church
Worldwide (Winners’ Chapel International)
charged Christians to take up arms and attack
Muslims in the recent Kaduna killings and that if
religious and ethnic injustice could not be
addressed, Nigeria could as well break up.
“The fake news item, which has been trending
online for a couple of days, is supposed to be a
report depicting the Bishop reacting to the
hostilities between Christians and Muslims in
southern Kaduna in which unnumbered persons,
mostly Christians have been killed.
“In this report, Bishop Oyedepo purportedly
called out and berated the politicians who were
fun-watching while the carnage went on or
fanning the embers of the violence, and
supposedly noted that there was no basis for
Nigeria’s continued unity.
“For instance, in the online version of one of the
popular Nigerian newspapers (Vanguard of
January 12, 2017 reported by one Anthony
Ogbonna), the Bishop was quoted as saying:
“God has anointed me to lead a revolution
against the Islamic jihadists”
The Bishop is presented to have made very
provocative and inciting comments to his
congregation, declaring a counter-war against
the Fulani and fanatics in the recent Kaduna
crisis.
“The report is false. The video from which the
quotes were taken is a 2015 video at a Sunday
service in the heat of the Boko Haram crisis,
when churches, including our Northern
assemblies were under frequent attacks.
This was before the present administration took
office. The message bears no relevance to
today’s happenings; not even developments of
2016. The reporter(s), either being completely
unprofessional, lazy or simply wicked, made the
2015 message look like a 2017 church service
message. The trending video is NOT a 2016 or
2017 video.
“To this end, we can unequivocally and
authoritatively say that this quote, the report and
other similar reports do not fit the context of the
Kaduna crisis or any developments whatsoever
in the last one year.
“The reports are therefore fake, unbelievably and
maliciously fabricated and outright lies. They are
tweaked, baseless, and fraudulent.
“Bishop Oyedepo has not said, either in private
or public, anything related to the Southern
Kaduna killings: not now, not hitherto. If there
has been anything done, it has been prayer for
peace and unity of Nigeria. The intent of the
original author(s) or fabricators is best known to
them.
“However, what is baffling is the degree of
lowliness of today’s journalism practice. If any
online media seeking patronage or relevance
had bolted to the newsroom with this piece of
white lie, shouldn’t the supposedly more
responsible ones take ethical steps, namely, to
confirm, substantiate and ascertain the
authenticity of such claim before going to press
and avoid joining the bandwagon of sensational
and irresponsible journalism?.
“Moreover, our church is an open one, with a
website that has online media resources, from
which all our audio and video tapes and other
materials, from time immemorial, can be freely
accessed. All our archived videos are unedited.
Also, there are hard copies of all the church
messages in our libraries and bookstores. Again,
we have a Media and Editorial Board that can be
consulted at any time. But, which of these
mediums did the writers of the fake reports avail
themselves of before publishing?
“For the records and for posterity, Bishop
Oyedepo will not say any of those things in view
of current dire straits in which Nigeria has found
itself. There are too many problems at hand,
which require divine intervention. He will not
add to the throes and utter such divisive words.
As a father of the nation and a Pan Africanist in
his own right as a religious leader whose
ministry spreads across the continent and
beyond, he is a huge believer in the corporate
entity called Nigeria and has been a messenger
of national love, hope, peace and unity.
“While he feels for the victimized people across
the length and breadth of the country and his
heart goes to them, he has always worked with
government at all levels to keep Nigeria safe and
strongly unified.
“The Living Faith Church Worldwide (Winners’
Chapel International) has never been a Yoruba
church, or a Southern Nigeria church; it has
always been a church for all Nigerian church, a
platform where all persons of all walks of life
bond in the name of Jesus Christ. For those who
may not know, Bishop Oyedepo’s first major
break in Christian ministry was in Kaduna, his
second home, where he is a friend and father to
millions of people of all religious and ethnic
backgrounds.
“Indeed, our church has been a catalyst for the
Nigerian hope and dream and with its two
universities and numerous secondary and
primary schools nationwide, the church has
made it possible for Nigerians to come closer as
one people to rebuild our fatherland.”