metro
Pastor in row with husband of church member over paternity of 4-yr-old
Pastor in row with husband of church member over paternity of 4-yr-old
A rancorous scene occurred at the premises of the Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Ona Iye Parish in the Iloye area of Sango-Ota, Ogun State penultimate week as a commercial driver swathed by his family members and associates clashed with the pastor and founder of the church, Prophet Abiodun John, in a scandalous paternity row.
The driver, Badiru Folarin, who is the husband of a female church member brought to the church for spiritual healing, screamed that the pastor claimed ownership of his four-year-old child after he caught him having an illicit affair with his wife, Morufat.
Folarin claimed the pastor’s sexual escapades with his wife was revealed by his 14-year-old son, Saheed, who told him that his mother was always visiting and cooking for the clergyman while he was away and that the cleric in turn visited their home at odd hours.
He said: ”The pastor claimed that my in-law had given my wife to him as his wife. However, the question is, can a woman be given to two men as wife?
”The pastor confronted me to my face that he is the biological father of our last child, a four-year-old. Yet my wife rained curses on me, saying that Ogun (Yoruba god of iron) should strike me dead so she can enjoy her benefactor.
”I am a driver. I never enjoyed my wife at home. She was always away to church for several days in the guise of vigils and special spiritual protection. My mother-in-law was disturbed about my wife’s continuous absence from home under the pretext of participation in church activities.”
Amid the yelling, screaming and cacophony of noise at the scene, Morufat told her husband’s family members and bystanders that she was not in the least prepared to leave her husband, although she conceded the paternity of the child in question to the embattled pastor when asked to choose between the latter and Folarin.
She said: ”No one should blame me for what has happened…and If you all must know, I cannot be married to two men in my life…but my husband is not ready to take care of me, he is a shameless man…I will deal with him when we return home.”
Folarin, however, retorted: ”You cannot come back to my house…anything can happen to you if you come back to my house.”
Recalling how the messy affair between the pastor and her wife began, the father of six said he did not believe that the clergyman was having an affair with his wife when neighbours alerted him until his son tipped him off that his wife was having a tryst with the cleric at his house within the church premises.
Folarin said: ”I did not realise that the pastor was sleeping with my wife.
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“I am a Muslim while my wife is a Christian. She was having some spiritual attacks and went to the church for deliverance.
“Suddenly, she started frequenting the church, and when I heard that she was having an affair with the pastor, I confronted her but she denied it.
”She would send my children to me for upkeep while at the church and I usually sent money to her, not knowing that she was using my money to prepare meal for her pastor-lover.”
”The pastor knows me very well. He had even given me some spiritual items for use that would attract fortune, but my transport business witnessed a reversal of fortune instead.
”I have been married to Morufat for more than 30 years and our first child is 30 years old. I was giving her about N6,000 every day for upkeep.
“When I got home a few days ago, she rained curses on me. Her action got my 14-year-old son, Saheed, angry, and he opened up that his mother had been flirting with the pastor to the extent that she was cooking for the cleric with the money I have been giving her as daily upkeep.
“My son said his mother had just returned from the church where she took food to the pastor shortly before I returned home on that day.
”The pastor told me to my face that he is the biological father of my last child, a daughter (Alimot).
“I gave my wife the sum of N68,000 when she was pregnant with our last child, but she gave the money to the pastor and relocated to the church for several months under the pretext of seeking spiritual protection.
“Along the line, we had accommodation problem, and that was when I gave her money for a new accommodation. Instead, she spent the money on her lover and later claimed she was sick and that she used the money for treatment.
”Again, I got some money and got another apartment for her at Plaza area in Sango-Ota despite her insistence that she did not want me to get another accommodation.
“I warned her against having any close affair with pastor and asked her to stay in the new apartment.
“Surprisingly, she complained she did not like the fact the apartment is in a one-storey building.
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“I would give her N3,000 in the morning and N3,000 in the evening because I usually left home around 5 am to take early turn to pick passengers at the motor park.
“Last week, my son told me that his mother had been with the pastor’s house for four days. I stormed the place and I was shocked to find them together in a room half naked.
“The pastor tied a towel around his waist while my wife also tied a piece of cloth around her waist while she pushed two of my little children to play outside the room.
”She started abusing me and calling me all sort of names. I reported the affair to my wife’s uncle and the old man slapped the pastor for luring my wife to bed to the extent of impregnating her.
“We tried to take my children away from her but she bit off my hand while the pastor claimed that he is the father of my last daughter, who is my sixth child.
“The pastor told all of us at the scene that he is the biological father of my daughter and that I cannot take the girl away from him.
“My wife said she was not ready to leave me and that she cannot also leave her pastor-lover.
“I later discovered that she had aborted a pregnancy for the same pastor some years ago.
“I cannot take my wife back and because the pastor has vowed to deal with me.
“I have 13 siblings and only three of us are the surviving children of my parent.
“I don’t want the pastor to kill me. Nigerians should save me from the ruthless pastor.”
Speaking with our reporter, Saheed, Folarin’s son, who allegedly exposed his mother’s illicit affair with the pastor, said his mother threatened to poison him for exposing her affair with the pastor.
”My mother threatened to poison me for exposing her escapades with the pastor of our church to my father.
“She called me an unfortunate child for telling my father that she even cooked for the pastor.
“I know she attacked me because I knew too much about her secret affair with the pastor.”
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Giving his own side of the story, Pastor John explained that he is the biological father of Morufat’s sixth child.
He said he had been having an on and off affair with the woman in the last 20 years.
He said: ”My name is Prophet John Abiodun, the founder and pastor of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Orisun Iye Parish.
“I have been dating Morufat for about 20 years now. She told me that her husband abandoned her with two children.
”My church was formerly located in the Ijamido area of Ota before I moved it to Iloye area of Sango-Ota.
“Morufat came to my church about 20 years ago with two young children, Serifat and Saidat, for deliverance and spiritual protection.
“When I noticed that she did not leave after some time, I asked her to bring any of her family members.
”She later invited her aunt called Mama Lekan, who frequently visited her at the church.
“She stayed with me in the church for about six months, during which we started an affair.
“She later left and I did not see her again until about a year later.
”By the time she returned to my church in 2004, she was already pregnant for her husband.
“I reprimanded her for getting pregnant for the same man she had claimed was irresponsible.
”She said her husband had abandoned her again and bolted with a widow.
“I took her to a hospital when she went into labour and carried out special prayers for her and she was safely delivered of the baby. Afterward, I did not see her again.
”I ran into her again when I was supervising the construction of my new church building in the neighbourhood of the apartment where she lives with her husband.
“She later ran to me when she was owing a lender, and that was when we reignited our affair.
”She had a disagreement with her husband and said she was no longer interested in her marriage.
“She said she would have left her husband a long time ago but for her mother’s insistence that she must not leave her husband. By that time, she already had five children.
”My affair with her and the controversial pregnancy led to the separation with my own wife who could not stand it and left me about three years ago.
“Morufat’s mother knows that I am the real father of the baby, and I struck a deal with her mother who was accompanied to my home by one of her friends that I would come back for my daughter when she is 10 years old.
“It was during the discussion that my wife overheard that I was responsible for Morufat’s pregnancy, hence, she quit our marriage.
“It is a pity that Morufat’s mother is not here. I would have challenged her to say the truth.
”I took her(Morufat) on my motorcycle to the hospital when it was time to deliver the baby.
“I paid for her delivery at the hospital, although I heard that her husband had given her the delivery money too before she was discharged from the hospital.
“I was not the one that buried the baby’s placenta: her husband did. However, I am sure that I am the biological father of the girl.”
Prophet Abiodun boasted that he is not ashamed to affirm his affair with Morufat and that she was impregnated by him.
”I can boldly say that I was responsible for the training of some of her children in vocations.
“The husband was not responsible for the upbringing or naming of any of their children.
“Morufat ran to me one day and had a clash with my wife, and that was when my wife took the final decision to leave me.
”I cannot be ashamed to say it anywhere, any day, even it is on a radio programme.
“I named the girl Bose because she was born on Sunday, while her husband named her Shadiat. She was a twins as was revealed to me by ‘God’, but the second child was evacuated from her womb dead.”
Prophet Abiodun, however, added that he cannot take Morufat as wife because of her past relationship with other men.
”I cannot marry Morufat because I know about her journey and some of the men she had dated in the past,” he said.
“I am only claiming my child because I know that she was impregnated by me and I have a scan of the baby.
“Morufat is 46 years old, and she said it in the presence of everyone that I am the real father of her last baby.
“Besides, my family members and hers know that I am the real father of the baby, and I am saying it again that I am not ashamed to say so.”
Pastor in row with husband of church member over paternity of 4-yr-old
metro
Yuletide: Travellers want fare discount for road trips
Yuletide: Travellers want fare discount for road trips
- Bemoan high fares
Passengers travelling to their country homes for the Christmas and new year day celebrations have urged the Federal Government to extend the free rail services announced early in the week to road transport routes across the country.
Some of the travellers who complained about the high fares called on the Federal Government to restore the 50 percent fare reduction on inter-state luxury bus routes granted to road passengers at this time last year.
The passengers who spoke at various terminals and loading stations of long distance road transport companies in Lagos, were reacting to the upsurge in fares to about N40,000 on luxury buses and N65,000 on mini buses going to the South-East.
Reports from some of the boarding stations revealed that upon hearing the announcement of free train ride, some passengers thronged the loading stations at various points in Lagos to benefit from the gesture, but were disappointed when they were informed that the offer did not cover road transport.
At Terminal 1 in Oshodi, Alafia, Jibowu, Mazamaza, and private stations in the Cele/Ejigbo axis, on Saturday, passengers bemoaned the high cost of travelling on both the big and small buses, disclosing that many people were not travelling because they couldn’t afford “the exorbitant fares the transport firms are collecting.”
Interestingly, a trip on board Toyota Sienna which used to attract slightly higher fare than on a typical mini bus, is the same at N40,500.
One of the passengers told our reporter one if the stations in Cele, “You press people should please tell (President Bola) Tinubu that poor masses cannot afford to go home this Christmas because there is no money in the country.
“(President) Tinubu should please repeat the 50 percent discount on long distance fares which some of us enjoyed last year to travel home.”
At the nearby Young Young Shall Grow station, a passenger who planned to travel to the east recalled how he took advantage of the 50 percent fare discount to travel from Abuja to Onitsha and back in 2023, and wondered why the Federal Government has not considered the re-introduction of the palliative this festive season.
According to the man who gave his name as Chinedu Uzoechina, his intention to travel to Anambra state and back with his wife and five children, has been stalled by the high transport fares being charged at the various terminals.
Uzoechina, who came to book for seats in advance, lamented, “I was hoping that the 50 percent fare discount that followed the increase in fuel pump price would be available this year, but that has not been the case this year. Forty thousand into seven is N280,000 for one-way luxury tickets.
“If you add the cost of coming back, it means I will spend nothing less than N560,000 on transportation alone for seven of us. Where will I get that kind of money? I have called my wife to inform her of the situation here (at the terminals in Cele).
“She is not happy that we are not travelling anymore, but what can I do?”
According to him, the only thing that can make his family travel again is if the Federal Government extends the free train ride offer to long distance road transport routes, like Lagos-east, or reduces the fares in collaboration with the operators.
Like Uzoechina, many other intending travellers were still hopeful that the government wiuld still intervene with a fare discount, even as they disclosed that they would either cancel the trips outrightly or reduce the number of tickets to be bought, if their hopes are dashed.It was learnt that the fares were slightly lower by about N2,000 at Terminal 1 where both big and mini buses have been loading for day and night trips at Oshodi.
Reacting to the passengers’ complaints about high fares at the terminal owned by the Lagos State Government, Damian Ezuma, the manager of Izu Chukwu Transport, blamed the situation on the rising cost of maintaining the buses as well as on the pump price of diesel, which he said, is as high as N2,000 a litre in some parts of the country.
“It is not our fault. The cost of maintenance is so high that it is only by the grace of God that some of transport companies still manage to keep their buses on the road these days. Do you know that one big bus tyre costs between N250,000 and N500,000, depending on the quality and brand?” Ezuma argued.
He confirmed that many intending travellers who heard about the free train services offer by the Federal Government have been coming to the terminal make enquiries on whether long distance-plying buses are part of the gesture and whether last season’s fare discount applies this year.
Many of them leave the terminal disappointed and deciding not to travel anymore, but opting instead to wait for a possible fare palliative from the government.
Also commenting on the reason for the high fares, a manager at Chisco Transport’s head office in Lagos explained that the unfavourable naira-dollar exchange rate has impacted on the prices of replacement parts and maintenance costs generally.
But a major factor is the fact that during the peak festive season, buses are usually full when leaving major cities like Lagos and Abuja, but are almost empty in their return journeys.
So some operators slightly adjust their fares upward to cover the losses incurred during return trips.
In 2023, the special fare discount by government through the luxury bus owners took effect on December 21, and lasted till the second week of January, 2024.
metro
Navy arrests 19 Nigerians attempting to reach Europe by hiding on ship
Navy arrests 19 Nigerians attempting to reach Europe by hiding on ship
The Nigerian Navy Ship (NNS) BEECROFT has successfully apprehended 19 individuals attempting to stow away on Europe-bound vessels.
In a statement issued on Saturday in Lagos, the ship’s Information Officer, Lt. Hussaini Ibrahim, disclosed that 15 stowaways were intercepted on Dec. 19 aboard the European-bound Moto Tanker (MT) KRITI RUBY. Another four were caught on Dec. 21 aboard MT MCC YANBU.
“Preliminary investigation revealed that the stowaways boarded the vessels at night and concealed themselves in the rudder compartment while attempting to illegally migrate to Europe,” Ibrahim stated.
The Navy’s Quick Response Team (QRT), operating from ATLAS COVE and using the Falcon Eye Alignment under the Nigerian Navy Maritime Domain Awareness Facility, facilitated the interception of the 15 individuals near the Lagos fairway buoy.
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Ibrahim further explained that credible intelligence led to the interception of the additional four stowaways by Navy personnel deployed on escort duties aboard the vessel.
“The prompt response of the QRT saved the stowaways from exposure to life-threatening situations during the long voyage,” he added.
The first group of 15 individuals has been handed over to the Nigeria Immigration Service, Lagos State Port/Marine Command, Apapa, for further investigation and necessary action. The remaining four suspects will also be transferred in due course.
“The presence of stowaways poses serious security threats to maritime operations, including risks of smuggling, piracy, drug and human trafficking, among other maritime crimes,” Ibrahim noted.
He emphasized that under the leadership of Chief of Naval Staff Vice Adm. Emmanuel Ogalla, NNS BEECROFT will continue maintaining security along Lagos waterways and surrounding creeks to support safe maritime activities and economic growth.
Navy arrests 19 Nigerians attempting to reach Europe by hiding on ship
metro
Troops arrest four Ambazonian rebels in Taraba
Troops arrest four Ambazonian rebels in Taraba
Troops of the 6 Brigade Nigerian Army/Sector 3 of the Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS), have arrested four suspected members of Ambazonian rebels in Taraba.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ambazonia is a rebel group operating in neighbouring Cameroon Republic.
A statement on Saturday in Jalingo by Capt. Olubodunde Oni, Acting Assistant Director Army Public Relations, said the suspects were arrested at a hotel in Takum town.
The statement said that acting on credible intelligence, the suspects were tracked and apprehended.
According to the statement, during initial interrogation, the suspects confessed to being part of the rebel group involved in arms proliferation in exchange for cocoa with their Nigerian collaborators.
It said that four mobile handsets were recovered from the suspects now in detention undergoing further investigation.
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The statement also said that in another operation following actionable intelligence, troops deployed at Natilde community in Bantaji District of Wukari Local Government Area intercepted a truck with registration number WKR 66 BB, transporting 19 pieces of stolen pipelines belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL).
It said that further collaborative efforts with the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) in Wukari Division led to the recovery of an additional 11 pipes, bringing the total to 30.
“The recovered items have been handed over to the NSCDC Wukari Division for further investigation and necessary action.
“The 6 Brigade Nigerian Army will remain resolute in its commitment to safeguarding lives and property while ensuring the security of critical national infrastructure.
“We urge members of the public to continue providing timely and credible information to security agencies to enhance our collective efforts in maintaining peace and security,” the statement added.
Troops arrest four Ambazonian rebels in Taraba
(NAN)
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