A senior pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), Johnson Odesola, has challenged Reverend Mosy Madugba to provide evidence for his claim that former President Olusegun Obasanjo allocated oil wells to prominent Nigerian Pentecostal leaders, including Pastor Enoch Adeboye.
Odesola, the church's Continental Overseer for South West Nigeria and the Middle East, said the allegation against Adeboye should not be treated as established fact without verifiable evidence.
Madugba, founder and president of the Ministers’ Prayer Network, had alleged in a sermon that Obasanjo, during his presidency, allocated oil wells to Adeboye, Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Church Worldwide and Pastor William Kumuyi of Deeper Christian Life Ministry.
The cleric reportedly associated the alleged oil allocations with the establishment of universities, hospitals and schools by the religious leaders, as well as the acquisition of private jets by some of them.
But Odesola, in an opinion article published by Impact Nigeria on Tuesday, demanded that Madugba disclose the basis of his claims and make available documents to establish that the alleged transactions occurred.
He said the seriousness of the allegation required evidence such as government allocation records, petroleum licensing documents and details of the companies purportedly granted the oil assets.
Odesola also questioned whether Madugba had firsthand knowledge of the alleged allocations or relied on information supplied by other individuals.
“A statement made from a pulpit does not automatically become established truth because the speaker is a respected minister of the gospel or holds the title of professor,” he stated.
According to him, media reports on the circulating sermon had not provided any documentary evidence linking Adeboye to an oil well allocated by the Obasanjo administration.
“This does not establish that no document could ever exist. It establishes that the allegation remains unsubstantiated in the public domain,” he said.
Giving reasons for his intervention, Odesola disclosed that he had been associated with RCCG for more than five decades and had worked closely with Adeboye for over 40 years.
He argued that the church's institutional growth should not be used as a basis for concluding that its General Overseer acquired wealth through political patronage or an alleged allocation of oil assets.
Odesola recalled that RCCG was established by Reverend Josiah Akindayomi, with Adeboye taking over as General Overseer in 1981 after the founder's death in 1980.
He also drew attention to Adeboye's academic background in Mathematics, Hydrodynamics and Applied Mathematics, saying the development of RCCG into a major religious organisation involved decades of evangelism, missionary activities and financial support from its members.
Addressing questions surrounding Redeemer's University, Odesola said the institution was established by the church, secured Federal Government approval in January 2005 and commenced academic activities in October that year.
He maintained that the existence of the university, alongside other educational and healthcare institutions established by RCCG, was not proof that Adeboye personally benefited from an oil allocation.
The pastor also dismissed the suggestion that the use of private aircraft by religious leaders was sufficient evidence of personal ownership or proof that such assets were acquired through proceeds from oil interests.
He said those making the allegations should identify the specific oil block involved, the company that received the licence, its shareholders and ultimate beneficial owners, as well as the date and government authority responsible for the purported allocation.
Odesola further maintained that the burden of proof rested primarily with Madugba, rather than the church, which he said was not required to respond to every allegation circulated on social media.
Nevertheless, he acknowledged that the church and appropriate authorities should address legitimate concerns if credible evidence was presented.
He urged Madugba to publish any documents supporting his claims and explain how he arrived at the conclusion that the former president allocated oil wells to the religious leaders.
He also called on him to retract or correct the allegation if it could not be substantiated.
“I do not claim that this personal experience makes the church immune from scrutiny. Neither am I suggesting that Pastor Adeboye or any other religious leader should be above the law,” he wrote.
Odesola stressed that religious leaders, like other public figures, should be open to scrutiny but insisted that allegations must be distinguished from established facts.
“Until such evidence is produced, Nigerians should distinguish between an allegation and a proven fact,” he added.
Leave a Reply