Category Archives: Church

Scam In The House Of God

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Scam in House of God(video)

HRM/Pastor Nnamndi Ofuegbu

HRM/Pastor Nnamndi Ofuegbu

This could  seem like a Nollywood script. But there is more to it than meet the eyes.

Pastor Lazurus Muoka, is the founder and General Overseer of The Lord Chosen Charismatic Revival Movement (LCCRM) in Nigeria.

Are churches turning political tussle field as succinctly put  by the narrator?

A traditional ruler in Anambara State, Pastor Nnamndi Ofuegbu of LCCRM is now claiming he has been defrauded of millions of Dollars by Pastor Muoka, and wants his money back. Watch the video for more revelation!

Former Pianist Asks Court to Summon Reverend Chris Okotie As His Witness In Assault Charge Brought Against Him By Church

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 Rev. Chris Okotie

 

A former pianist at the Household of God Church run by Reverend Chris Okotie, today filed a motion at a Lagos Magistrate court, asking for Reverend Okotie to be summoned as his own witness in an assault charge instigated against him by the church.

 

In the claim, Oklotor Daphiaghor, said his ordeal began when he asked to be paid his benefits by Reverend Okotie for his 13 years of service at the church as well as compensation due for other music deals they did together during that period.

 

Okotie, he said, turned down his request and threatened to deal with him if he insisted.

The pianist said he was angry for the cheating and subsequent threats by Reverend Okotie such that he considered a personal protest at the premises of the church on July 10, 2012.

 

On that day, however, he was warned by police operatives who advised him to explore other means to pursue his claims from the pastor.  Oklotor said he returned the following Sunday, July 15, to resume his protest after efforts to get Rev Okotie to meet his demands failed.  He was then arrested and detained at the Kirikiri police Station and charged with ‘assaulting the man of God’, ‘preventing the man of God from entering the church’ and ‘breach of public peace’.

 

Reverend Okotie’s representatives claimed in his defence that everyone who worked in the church was a ‘volunteer.’   Some of the witnesses earlier presented by the church in court maintained the same position, claiming they were volunteers, but soon as questions were asked about whether the security personnel guarding the premises round the clock were also volunteers, the church, through its lawyer, Mr. Kola Dopamu, quickly said there were paid staff as opposed to volunteers.   Mr. Oklotor was categorized as being among the volunteers.

 

On the contrary, during the trial, Adeolu Omotayo, who was said to be an IT engineer by profession but who heads the security team in the church, claimed the church had no employees.

 

He was contradicted by the church lawyer, Dopamu who stated that the church had both employees and volunteers.  In substantiating this claim, some 10 security personnel in coded immaculate white apparel were shown as being the church’s officially paid staff, while the pianist was dismissed as a being a volunteer in the church.

 

Another witness called by the church, Mr. Niyi Ajayi, who was said to be a Security consultant and Personal Assistant to Reverend Chris Okotie, boasted he knew everything about the church and the past, and that he could not therefore have been mistaken that Mr. Oklotor was only a volunteer in the church.

 

For his all-knowing boast, however, when the pianist’s lawyer asked Mr. Ajayi who was in charge of the CCTV gadgets at the church, the witness said he was aware the church has CCTV gadget installed at the premises, but that he did not know who controls it.

 

Oklotor’s lawyer, Mr. Robert Igbinedion, today filed a fresh motion asking court to summon Reverend Okotie as the only witness who could provide the CCTV images for playing in the courtroom as evidence that his client assaulted the Reverend as has been claimed.

 

Curiously, other witnesses the church said it would present were absent, including Mrs. Sumbo, an Investigating Police Officer in charge of the case. The legal representative of the church had told court today that the witnesses were not available, but Mrs. Sumbo was seen at the police Station, sitting very close to the court. When asked why she was not in court to testify, she claimed she was not aware the matter was going on, whereas the legal representative for Reverend Okotie had claimed in court today that their witnesses were not available for testimony.

 

Saharareporters gathered that the lawyer for Reverend Okotie had been pressuring Mr. Igbinedion to tell the court that an micable settlement between both parties, Reverend Okotie and Mr. Oklotor, was in progress, but Mr. Igbinedion declined, maintaining he could say no such thing when he was not aware of any such agreement.

 

Meanwhile, in a secret attempt to further robe Mr. Oklotor into a corner, the church proxies asked him to write an apology letter to Reverend Chris Okotie so that they would intervene and settle amicably, but Mr. Oklotor refused, suspecting that the move was a tactic to use such correspondence as evidence that he had actually assaulted Reverend Okotie.

 

That is why, in his motion filed today, Mr. Oklotor pleaded with the court to summon Reverend Okotie as his only witness to play the CCTV which is under the control of the Pastor’s office, to show his alleged assault on the Pastor.

 

Sources close to Reverend Okotie described the grammarian preacher, musician and presidential flag-bearer of the Fresh Party during 2007 elections is a stubborn, randy fellow.  Reverend Okotie recently and controversially took a new wife after divorcing two earlier women with whom he had exchanged marital vows.

 

The magistrate fixed May 10 for ruling on the application seeking a summon on Rev Chris Okotie to appear with CCTV evidence of his alleged assault.

Pastor’s Wife: I Caught Him Sleeping With Church Member During Counselling

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gavel court
35-year-old Pastor Segun Fasina on Monday pleaded with an Orile-Agege Customary Court in Lagos to dissolve his four-year-old marriage over wife’s alleged wayward life.

But his wife fired back in court, disclosing that Pastor Segun is an adulterous man and that she caught him in the act with a female church member, who came for counselling, on their matrimonial bed…

“My husband is adulterous. He counsels his church members at home, and I discovered that most of them are ladies. He was inside the room counselling a woman [one day] when I dashed in.

“To my surprise, my husband and the woman were both naked in our bed. My husband beat me and threw me out of the house. When I reported the case to his father, the man said, I should not disturb his son.”

Pastor Segun of No. 4 Moses St., Alagba, Orile-Agege, Lagos had told the court that his wife, Abosede, had lost her sense of dignity, and is now smoking and drinking alcohol. He also accused her of being a gossip and troublesome.

“My wife, Abosede, possesses all the bad habits one can think of. She was accused of stealing a phone in our house. I believed she actually stole it because of her behaviour. She goes to other co-tenants’ apartments to gossip. And whenever there is any fight in the house, my wife’s name is always mentioned.

“As a pastor, I have prayed for her deliverance from the evil acts but my effort was in vain,” he claimed.

Insisting that his wife must go for him to start afresh, Pastor Segun saud, “Since the marriage is childless, we owe ourselves nothing. So, I want the court to dissolve the union.”

Abosede however denied all the allegations and pleaded with the court not to allow her husband make a divorce at such a young age.

The court warned them to maintain the peace till May 10 when it would give judgement.

Pope’s First Easter Mass Sends Messages Of Peace

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Pope Francis, washing and kissing the feet of prisoners.

Pope Francis, washing and kissing the feet of prisoners.

Pope Francis celebrated his first Easter Sunday Mass praying for world peace and urging a diplomatic solution to the standoff on the Korean peninsula.

Only two weeks after his election, the first pope from the developing world continues to make his mark on the Catholic Church.

St. Peter’s Square was bedecked with flowers and packed with joyous pilgrims and tourists as Pope Francis celebrated Easter Mass.

In his first message to the city and to the world, Francis urged peace for the Middle East and for Israelis and Palestinians to resume negotiations to end a conflict that has lasted too long.

“Peace in Iraq,” Francis said, “that every act of violence may end, and above all, for dear Syria. … How much suffering must there still be before a political solution can be found?”

The Argentine-born pope also decried terrorism in the war-torn countries of Africa: Mali, Nigeria, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Central African Republic. He appealed for peace in Asia, especially on the Korean Peninsula. May disagreements be overcome, he said, and a renewed spirit of reconciliation grow.

Francis’ most intense appeal was for what he called a world divided by greed, looking for easy gain, wounded by selfishness. He singled out human trafficking, calling it the most extensive form of slavery in this 21st century. He urged peace for a world torn apart by violence linked to drug trafficking and by the iniquitous exploitation of natural resources.

In keeping with his humble image, Francis wore simple unadorned vestments and celebrated the Mass alone, without his cardinals. In another contrast with his predecessor, the rituals this holy week have been shorter than in past years.

The new pope has struck a chord with his direct language and by referring to himself as the bishop of Rome rather than supreme pontiff.

One of Francis’ most surprising acts was at the holy Thursday ritual last week, when, in an unprecedented move, he washed the feet of two women. This raised eyebrows among traditionalists, who say that only men can partake of the rite since Jesus’ apostles were all male.

Vatican analysts say it’s too early to say whether Francis is ushering in a Catholic Church spring; up to now the changes have been in tone and symbolism, but they’ve already galvanized the hopes of many Catholics that the church will soon embrace needed and substantial reforms.Pope Francis

Benedict XVI Formally Ends His Papacy and Leaves Vatican

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Benedict XVI Formally Ends His Papacy and Leaves Vatican

The helicopter carrying Pope Benedict XVI flew toward Castel Gandolfo, a town outside                                                                                           Rome where popes have summered for centuries.

VATICAN CITY — Benedict XVI ceased to be pope at 8 p.m. local time (2 p.m. Eastern) Thursday when his resignation took effect, leaving the leadership of the Roman Catholic Church vacant while its leading clerics consider who should succeed him.

Benedict left the Vatican by helicopter on Thursday afternoon to spend the final hours of his scandal-dogged papacy and the first of his retirement at a summer residence used by popes for centuries. Onlookers in St. Peter’s Square cheered, church bells rang and Romans stood on rooftops to wave flags to see him off as he flew from Rome to the summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, a hilltop town southeast of the city. More carillons heralded his arrival there, and he was greeted by a vivid contingent of silver-suited firemen, gendarmes in red capes, and bishops in black and pink.

Addressing cheering well-wishers from a window at the residence, he said: “Dear friends, I am happy to be with you! Thanks for your friendship and affection! You know this is a different day than others.”

Earlier in the day, in one of his concluding acts, Benedict addressed a gathering of more than 100 cardinals who will elect his successor, urging them to be “like an orchestra” that harmonizes for the good of the Roman Catholic Church. From a gilded throne in the Clementine Hall of the Apostolic Palace, the pope thanked the cardinals collectively, and then rose to greet each of them individually.

Draped in a red and gold mantle lined with snow-white ermine, Benedict clasped the hands of each cardinal as they removed their red skullcaps and kissed the pope’s ring. Benedict told them, “I will be close to you in prayer” as the next leader of the church is chosen. Many of them were appointed to their powerful positions as so-called princes of the church by Benedict or by his predecessor, John Paul II, and are seen as doctrinal conservatives in their mold. “Among you is also the future pope, whom I promise my unconditional reverence and obedience,” Benedict told the cardinals, reflecting the concern among Vatican watchers about what it will mean to have two popes residing in the Vatican.

As pope emeritus, Benedict intends to reside in Castel Gandolfo for several months and then return to the Vatican to live in an apartment being prepared for him in a convent whose gardens offer a perfect view of the dome of St. Peter’s Basilica.

He surprised many on Feb. 11 when he announced that, feeling his age and diminishing strength, he would retire, a dramatic step that sent the Vatican hierarchy spinning. He reassured the faithful on Sunday that he was not “abandoning” the church, but would continue to serve, even in retirement. In an emotional and unusually personal message on Wednesday, his final public audience in St. Peter’s Square, Benedict said that he sometimes felt that “the waters were agitated and the winds were blowing against” the church.

His retirement will bring changes in style and substance. Rather than the heavy ornate robes he wore to greet the cardinals, Benedict will wear a simple white cassock, with brown shoes from Mexico replacing the red slippers that he and other popes have traditionally worn, the color symbolizing the blood of the martyrs.

The conclave to elect the next pope, expected in mid-March, will begin amid a swirl of scandal. On Monday, Cardinal Keith O’Brien, Britain’s senior Roman Catholic cleric, said he would not participate in the conclave, after having been accused of “inappropriate acts” with several priests, charges that he denies. Other cardinals have also come under fire in sexual abuse scandals, but only Cardinal O’Brien has recused himself.

On Monday, Benedict met with three cardinals he had asked to conduct an investigation into a Vatican scandal in which hundreds of confidential documents were leaked to the press and published in a tell-all book last May, the worst security breach in the church’s modern history. The three cardinals compiled a hefty dossier on the scandal, which Benedict has entrusted only to his successor, not to the cardinals entering the conclave, the Vatican spokesman said earlier this week.

On Thursday, Panorama, a weekly magazine, reported that the Vatican secretary of state, Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, had been conducting his own investigation into the leaks scandal, including requesting wiretaps on the phones of some members of the Vatican hierarchy. That would be taking a page from the playbook of magistrates in Italy, where wiretaps are extensive.

The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, said on Thursday that in the context of an investigation into the leaks, magistrates of the Vatican, not the secretary of state, “might have authorized some wiretaps or some checks,” but nothing on a significant scale. The idea of “an investigation that creates an atmosphere of fear of mistrust that will now affect the conclave has no foundation in reality.”

A shy theologian who appeared to have little interest in the internal politics of the Vatican, Benedict has said that he is retiring “freely, and for the good of the church,” entrusting it to a successor who has more strength than he does. But shadows linger. The next pope will inherit a hierarchy buffeted by crises of governance as well as power struggles over the Vatican Bank, which has struggled to conform to international transparency norms.

Many faithful have welcomed Benedict’s gesture as a sign of humility and humanity, a rational decision taken by a man who no longer feels up to the job.

As he stood near St. Peter’s Square on Wednesday after attending the pope’s last public audience, Vincenzo Petrucci, 26, said he had come to express “not so much solidarity, but more like closeness” to the pope. “At first we felt astonished, shocked and disoriented,” he said. “But then we saw what a weighty decision it must have been. He seemed almost lonely.”

Many in the Vatican hierarchy, known as the Roman Curia, are still reeling from the news. Many are bereaved and others seem almost angry. “We are terribly, terribly, terribly shocked,” one senior Vatican official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity.

Newyork Times

Alan Cowell contributed reporting from Paris

Pope received news of his warrant of arrest before resignation

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On February 4, a week before Pope Benedict XVI’s resignation, Vatican allegedly received a note from an undisclosed European government that stated that there are plans to issue a warrant for the Pope’s arrest. Addicting Info reports.

Picture

With his resignation announced, the former pope will have a meeting with the Italian President, Giorgio Napolitano on February 23 to beg for immunity against prosecution for allegations of child rape.

Benedict XVI was the first Pope to resign in 600 years, which shocked almost everyone. And he did so after panicking about an impending arrest in the midst of a hastily arranged meeting begging for protection from the Italian government.

But for him this will not be easy as the International Tribunal into Crimes of Church and State calls upon the Italian President to deny help to Ratzinger. If the Italian President does cave there may be another venue to make sure he doesn’t get away.

In addition to these alleged attempts by this European government to prosecute, a New York based organization, The Centre for Constitutional Rights, has accussed the Pope and his Cardinals of possible crimes against humanity for sheltering pedophile priests. The non-profit legal group has requested an ICC inquiry on behalf of the Survivor’s Network, citing the church’s “long-standing and pervasive system of sexual violence.”

The Catholic Church truly knows no bounds when it comes to protecting their priests, no matter how heinous the crimes. They are the biggest example of religion getting people passes. All we can do is hope that these attempts of legal action will become succesful.