There is palpable tension along the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway over ownership claim of a disputed 3.5 acres of land valued at millions of naira by both the General Overseer of the Faith and Miracle International Church (FMIC), Pastor G.F David and the Founder and Spiritual Head of One Love Family, Satguru Maharaj Ji
At least five persons were said to have been arrested by the Oyo State Police Command while several church members were allegedly hospitalized after being attacked with burnt pepper spray.
The multi-million naira land, claimed by Satguru Maharaj Ji as part of his “Holy Land ” is located along the busy Lagos/Ibadan Expressway corridor
Pastor G.F David, had at a press conference in Ibadan, alleged that members of his church were attacked by people said to belong to the One Love Family sect shortly after their crusade with the theme “Possessing the Gate.”
He alleged that his members were inflicted with ‘burnt pepper’ which resulted in some of them being hospitalized at various hospitals in Ibadan.
According to him, “The land in question is legally owned by the Church. We have both the Deed of Conveyance and Certificate of Occupancy as proofs.
“We held a crusade with the theme, Possessing the Gate on the land sometime ago. After the crusade, our members were attacked by a set of people who are said to be members of the sect.
“We were made to know that the land belongs to Maharaj Ji not the Church in spite of all the evidences.
“We refused to take laws into our hands by engaging them in reprisal attack. Rather, we staged a peaceful protest to the Oyo State Police Command at Eleyele where we were assured of intervention.
“Maharaj Ji even alleged us of the plot to kill him and as well labelled our crusade as ‘Operation Wetie.’
“I don’t know anything about ‘Operation Wetie.’ I was not even born then. How can a mortal being threaten to kill a self-acclaimed God on earth?
“Maharaj Ji is an elderly man. He should allow peace to reign. Our being his neighbour along the expressway should not be seen as a threat.
“Christianity is a religion of peace. That is why we are calling for the swift intervention of the relevant security agencies on this matter. We don’t want it to snowball into a religious crisis in Oyo State.” He urged
However, Satguru Maharaj Ji, in a statement, faulted the claims of the FMIC leadership, alleging them of trespassing into the Holy Land.
Maharaj Ji submitted that five of his security men were arrested after stopping members of what he called Faith and Miracle illegal occupants from trespassing into the Holy Land.
He alleged that some members of the church allegedly entered the Maharaj Ji community through an area he described as the “Holy Land”, instead of using the entrance to their own premises.
According to him, he was not at the scene when the incident occurred, but was briefed about the development involving the church members and security personnel working at the spiritual community.
Maharaj Ji said the church members told the Holy Land security men that they wanted to cut some trees within the area, prompting the security personnel to question their presence and ask them to pass through their own territory.
He alleged that the church members refused to leave the area, leading to an altercation between them and the security men guarding the Maharaj Ji community.
He said the security personnel attempted to raise the alarm over the development, but before they could do so, the church members made a call to the police and gave false information and before the Maharaj Ji devotees could utilize a peaceful means to resolve the matter, the monitoring team of the Oyo State Police Command arrived at the location and arrested five of them.
Maharaj Ji identified those arrested as Ogochukwu Ogonna, Chijoke Orji, Osike Itabalume, Ugonna Chukwu and Elue Mazi.
The spiritual leader said the five men were initially taken to the Tollgate Police Station before the matter was subsequently transferred to the Eleyele Police Command.
“These are people doing security service here, and so we ask for their release,” Maharaj Ji said while appealing to the authorities to intervene in the matter.
He described the arrested individuals as members of the community who were performing security duties within the Holy Land and expressed concern over their continued detention.
He said the area was regarded as part of the spiritual land and that visitors or outsiders were expected to follow the appropriate access arrangements.
According to him, the latest incident was another development in the lingering disagreement between the One Love Family and the Faith and Miracle International Church led by Pastor G.F David specifically for this dangerous mission.
“We have protocols on this spiritual land, and they breached the protocol,” he said.
The spiritual leader also appealed to the police and other relevant authorities to examine the circumstances surrounding the arrest of the five security men and ensure that the matter is handled according to the law.
“This is the usual demonic game of the land grabbers always using the Police to suppress and terrorize us in the past and failed,” Maharaj Ji declared.
He said the development should not be allowed to worsen the existing disagreement between both religious groups, urging Pastor G .F David to pursue peaceful and lawful means to prevent further loss of lives.
