Prophets are expected to be
holy, solemn and trusted, but when you have strong suspicion that one, who is
overseeing your church, is sodomising your son, hell is always going to let
lose. This is the dilemma of Pastor (Mrs.) Precious Ukpe, Overseer, Soul’s
Deliverance Church of God, Ogudu, Lagos, and the reason for accusations and
counter accusations. Dorcas Egede reports.
When Pastor Precious
Ukpe, the Overseer of Soul’s Deliverance Church of God, Ogudu, employed the
services of a young prophet, Jeremiah Asuquo, little did she know that down the
years, the gesture was to come with much more baggage.
Ukpe met young Pastor
Asuquo when in 2016 she was in dire need of a competent hand to man the church
her late husband founded. He was recommended by “Madam Alice,” Ukpe’s friend,
who spoke loftily of this “young prophet from Ghana who is very good.”
Over the years, she
had tried several pastors, but having been without one for a while, she quickly
went after the young pastor, who was then resident pastor in another church,
Land of Deliverance in Ogudu.
According to Pastor
(Mrs.) Ukpe, “He worked with me for two years and six months” and everything
went just right, with more people flocking into the church until mid-2018. And
then, trouble set in. Things went awry and allegations and counter allegations
ensued.
The beginning of the end
According to Ukpe, it
all started, when she demanded that her 16-year-old son, Jeffrey (not real
name), who had been staying with the prophet, returned home to her.
She recalled how in
2017, the prophet had prophesied “that I should bring my son to him, that God
wanted him to take care of him as a father.”
She said she initially
refused, saying he is her only child and couldn’t let him out of her sight; but
November 2017 saw Ukpe releasing the boy. She claims, “he was with him till
June 2018.”
Did she have any
foreboding about releasing the boy? Ukpe’s answer was, “I didn’t notice
anything that was not normal. I’d been hearing stuff about him, that he is gay,
that he sleeps man to man, but I never saw him in that light.”
At a point, she
confronted him on the rumour, “But he denied it. He told me he couldn’t do
that, that he’s a virgin and had never slept with any woman in his life.”
“By January 2018, I
asked him to release my son; that I didn’t want him to stay there again, that
as my only son, I wanted him to be in the house with me. That was when the
trouble started.”
Ukpe said the prophet
was adamant. “He told me he couldn’t release the boy, that he would
rather leave the church. True to his word, when he returned the boy, he left
and scattered the church. All the members left with him.”
Could she be trying
to discredit the prophet because he left the church? “Truly, it may look that
way, but my boy and this Paul have said everything at the police station where
they wrote their statement. Even the petition was written by Alausa people, not
me.”
How come the issue of defilement never came up until November 2018
when the prophet left the church?
“The boy didn’t tell
me what was going on because the prophet threatened that he would die, if he
told anyone.”
She said the boy
finally opened up because he couldn’t bear the abnormal feeling in his body
anymore, plus the frequent defecating. “He said the prophet slept with him
through his anus, not once, not twice.”
She said the case
was reported to the human rights department at Alausa and her boy was taken for
examinations, where it was confirmed that his anus had been penetrated and is
now expanded. “Not my boy alone, Paul too. Paul used to be a drummer in our
church.”
Ukpe also revealed
that the prophet has been begging her. “He has been begging me to forgive him.
If he is innocent, he would not be begging me; he will be asking me to go
anywhere, and that this is defamation of character.”
Jeffery’s story
According to
Jeffrey, he moved to the prophet’s house late 2017. Asked how the whole sexual
violations started, he said, “After I moved in with him, he was now giving me
signs, but I told him I wasn’t interested. He told me he was going to leave the
church if I didn’t agree. I still said no, and then he started issuing me death
threats. You know he’s a prophet. He told me I was going to die, that’s how I
succumbed.”
Why didn’t he leave
and go home? “I didn’t leave because I wanted him to stay in the church. It’s
difficult to get a good pastor and I thought he was a good one.”
Asked if he could
describe the experience, the boy said, “It was not a good experience. There’s
this jelly, KY jelly. It’s a lubricant for aiding V penetration. That’s what he
used.”
About the pain and
what he felt in his body, Jeffery said, “If you wear trousers for too long,
there’s this heat you feel and that heat brings this kind of pain down that
axis.” He revealed that when the police took him for medical checks, “they said
I have genital warts.”
As a result, he said
“I was always depressed and angry. We even used to fight in the house most
times. It also affected my studies because I couldn’t focus. But now everything
is better.”
Was it a daily
affair? “It wasn’t every day. Any time he feels like.”
She’s
only trying to destroy my career –Prophet
Prophet Jeremiah
Asuquo, 25, is fondly called Prof by his older congregation and daddy by the
younger ones. He is the founder of Arena of Solution International Church
(ASIC), Ogudu, Lagos. This reporter decided to take him unawares by worshipping
in his new church which he founded barely seven months ago.
Somehow he didn’t
seem to be taken unawares, going by his first declaration: “Some of you, today
might be your first time of coming here, some may be journalists, some may be
press…, what matters is that God knows everything….”
After the three-
hour service, the reporter requested to see the prophet. On hearing the reason
for her visit, he said, “I wouldn’t have spoken without hearing from my lawyer
but since you’re very polite and I was expecting you guys already….”
“The lady was my
madam. I met her in 2016.” He began. “When I went to her church, they were only
seven in number. I was serving under people at Ogudu here, she heard about me
and said I should come and manage the church for her.”
Aside bringing
numerical increase to the church, he said he also changed the outlook of the
church. “Being a lover of music and God, I bought all the instruments in that
church with my money, I’m even still left with a debt of N30,000. I have a
picture of the church before and when I left. I bought wall papers, PCV; I changed
everything in that church. We had over 500 members.”
On the allegation of
abuse on the child, Asuquo said, “The said boy doesn’t live in my house, has
never lived there. He used to come on weekends. I was staying with Inyang,
Lovena, Blessing; these are all girls and two boys (Marvelous and Amos). These
are the people I stayed with. They had girls and boys room, and I had my own
room.”
Asuquo said the first
time his former boss dragged him to the police station was on account of
embezzling N5million from the church. “But they called an auditor, calculated
the money and found out that I did not take a dime.”
She also accused him
of assault and battery, adding that “We are still in court for that. This one
about her son is a whole new allegation.”
Counting from May to
November, he queried why it took his accuser so long to “come up with this
accusation that I defiled her son? I left her church on the first Sunday in
May, and the boy left my place the same day.”
Prophet Asuquo said
Ukpe’s son came to sit for his WAEC examination in his area in Magboro, Ogun
State, and that the idea for that came from her. “She brought the idea that the
boys that stay with me used to write WAEC and pass. I bought everything for the
boy; she just gave me N30,000 for registration. And the boy came, wrote his
exams and went home to his mother. He didn’t live with me.
“He left my place
after his exam, which was the same time I left the church. He stayed with his
mother from that time till December. I didn’t hear anything. They have gone for
check up. I said fine, what is your medical report? I have not seen it because
I am not a lawyer. And you know police know their way of doing things.
“If it is true that I
defiled this boy, let justice take its full course. But if it’s not true, let
God that fights, fight them.” He said the boy in question is not a kid and if
he was indeed being sexually abused, he could have left the place. “It is not
as if I caged him in my house.”
When reminded of the
threat of death, which the boy alleged, his response was, “Has the boy died
now? This woman just wants to destroy my career. She told me she is going to
deal with me. She said it countless times.”
He reiterated that
this was “the first accusation (of being gay) that I’ve ever had in my life.
I’m telling you the truth. You can do your investigation, I’ll give you the
names of the churches I’ve pastored, Land of Deliverance in Ogudu here, Mount
Zion Lighthouse Full Gospel Church, Shangisha, although the pastor is not
around now.”
Does he plan on getting married
anytime soon, this reporter wanted to know, as this would stem the tide of gay
allegations?
“This year; I have a
girlfriend. Marriage is not something you rush into.” He responded, and then he
added rather emotionally, “What do I do with this woman? My heart is bleeding
right now. These are the things that make people commit suicide.”
About the prophecy of
the boy coming to stay with him, Asuquo said, “The person that gave the
prophecy was Prophet, Doctor Uyotta Kingsley. He’s the owner of Christ City
Church in Uyo. They are relatives. The prophecy came on a fateful Sunday
service. He said, ‘Madam, allow this boy to be closer and stay with the
prophet, so that through him, God can mould the boy.’ She now decided and said,
in front of the congregation, ‘From today, take this boy as your brother.’ The
prophecy was not from me.”
Has he ever been
accused of being gay? “Never!” He said emphatically. “Since I was born,
never! It was since I started coming to this woman’s church… If I am a gay, my
God is not mad; I have served Him since I was four…. Even in my house, you can
come and do your investigation. I’ve stayed there four years, I’ve never
visited a police station before. There’s no criminal record anywhere. My name
has never been in any newspaper for any bad thing.”
Expatiating further,
Asuquo said, “I left because this woman has issues: if I’m close to you and you
give me things, she would do everything to get you off me. Through this, I have
lost prominent men. After service, she’ll just start quarreling for no just
reason. There is what we call structures in the church, but she doesn’t have
such. She wants to control finance, everything. You try to put people in
positions; she says no, it’s her church. She may have changed over, if I’m not
mistaking, 20 pastors in that church since her husband passed on 10 years ago.”
Speaking on how he met
Pastor Ukpe, the prophet said, “Through Madam Alice. Madam Alice is the mother
of Amos, who has stayed with me for four years.”
Part of the
allegations coming from Ukpe and her son is that Amos and Marvelous are
Asuquo’s sex toys, but he countered, saying, “Marvelous has been with me for
10/11 years. He was my student in school. That boy left Calabar and came and
stayed with me here in Lagos. And he has been in Lagos for two years.”
Amos and Marvelous
At this point, this
reporter asked to speak with the boys, and promptly the prophet called out to
them, “Amy! Mama!”
It wasn’t difficult to
spot Amos and Marvelous at ASIC that Sunday. Amos was on the keyboard, while
marvelous led the praise worship and was also the lead singer during the choir
rendition.
Marvelous, 19, who
fondly calls the prophet daddy, told the reporter that the prophet is his
uncle. When asked if they’re related by blood, he said, “No. he taught me when
I was in primary school in Calabar. He guided me when I was in secondary
school. When he was my primary school teacher, he used to live close to my
house. My parents knew him. I used to go to his house to assist him in washing
clothes, cleaning the house and doing one thing or the other.
Asked if the prophet
is gay, Marvelous response was a sharp, “No. I have stayed with him for about
11years now. If I have experienced such a thing, I wouldn’t have been close to
him. I am a grown up person, I know what is good and bad.”
In further defence of
his uncle, Marvelous said, “Ma, all these things these people are accusing him
of, they ganged up to plan it because he left that woman’s church.”
He explained that he
came to Lagos “to further my education because my uncle (the prophet) said he
would assist me. I’m about to collect the JAMB form now. After that, I will
collect the NDA form.”
But contrary to the
prophet’s claim that some ladies live with them, Marvelous said, “We stay in a
duplex, I, Amos and our uncle. Before, his mum was around and one sister Inyang
used to stay with us then. They both left last year.”
About Jeffery,
Marvelous said, “When we were still in the other church, Jeffery used to go
home with us sometimes on Fridays and when we’re coming to church on Sundays,
he would return home. It was when he wanted to write WAEC that he came to stay
with us, because he registered at Magboro. He stayed about two months during
the WAEC period.”
Asked if he had a
girlfriend, Marvelous said, “I used to have one when I was in Calabar. But
since I came to Lagos, I had to focus on my education, because women are kind
of distraction.”
And then it was the
turn of Amos. He walked into the room looking visibly unsettled, although he
claimed he was okay. He is the son of Madam Alice, who introduced the prophet
to Pastor Ukpe.
Interestingly, he
didn’t know exactly how he is related to the prophet; he just assumed he is
family.
On why he moved in
with the prophet, even when his mom stays in Lagos, he said, “I want my life to
be better.” Of course there was also the promise of sponsorship. But why isn’t
he in school, even after nearly five years of living with the prophet?
His curt answer was
“I’ll get into school this year. I’ve done my WAEC. I tried for admission last
year, but it didn’t work because of the Post JAMB.”
And then this reporter
asked about the prophet’s girlfriend. With a shocked expression, Amos, chuckled
before saying, “I’ve not seen him with any girl. He has female friends, but I
don’t know the one he wants to get married to. No lady comes to see us except
for our friend (Amos’ and Marvelous’). Presently there’s no female staying with
us; once we had Inyang and Blessing who stayed up to six months, but they both
left last year.”
When confronted with
the allegation that the prophet is gay, Amos’ reaction was a little aggressive.
“Do you see him as gay? Probably the reason they’re saying that is because
there was a time it was just the two of us living together.”
He revealed that they
stayed together about a year, stressing though that they were always having
visitors, including “Ma Ukpe’s son.”
Asked if there was
ever a prophecy that the prophet should take Jeffery as his son; Amos said,
“the prophecy was given by one man, Uyotta. The man is related to Jeffery’s
father. The man spoke to Ma Ukpe, and she agreed.”
Does Amos’ have a
girlfriend? “No. I don’t want to have. My future is more important to me,” was
his reply.
Back to the prophet,
he reiterated his belief that the accusation was borne out of envy that his
present church is doing well.
Pastor Godwin
This reporter also
sought out Pastor Godwin, who is the founder of Land of Deliverance, Ogudu,
where Prophet Asuquo ministered before he went to Ukpe’s church. Godwin however
wondered why the whole allegation is coming out now that Asuquo has left the
church.
“I don’t know much
about him being gay, because when he was with me, nobody accused him of such
and I did not hear any such rumour about him. But if the prophet was sleeping
with her son for a long time, why didn’t she come up until he left her church.
Could it be that all this is coming out because he left her church?”
Asked if his church
also experienced numerical growth when the Asuquo was with him? Godwin said,
“Yes. He’s the kind of person that once he enters your church, the whole place
will be filled up.”
Pastor Timothy
Etukudoh
Resident pastor,
Timothy Etukudoh of Mount Zion Lighthouse Full Gospel Church inc., Shangisha,
where the prophet was said to have pastored before moving to Land of
Deliverance in Ogudu, however denied knowing Asuquo. “First of all, we
don’t employ people to work in the church, except the ministers. We don’t
employ prophets in the church. We only have members that worship in the church,
who can prophesy…. Besides, I have come across many prophets, so, I wouldn’t know
who you are talking about.”
When confronted with
the story making the rounds that he once sent away a prophet because he was
gay, Etukudoh’s reply was rather curt. “I’m not a medical doctor, how will I
get to know when somebody is gay? Except one is caught in the act, madam, we
cannot establish a prima facie case.”
He observed that Hon. Joel Onowakpo is capable in
all ramifications because as a man who has served as Isoko south Local Govt.
Chairman, Chairman Board of Internal revenue during the tenure of His
Excellency Dr. Emmanuel Ewetan Uduaghan, Co-ordinator Federal Inland revenue
for three (3) States, Delta State, River State and Edo State he is a testimony
to fact that he will deliver if given a opportunity because he has shown
that he is a technocrat with experience,
reliable, accessible, a good listener, generous, accountable with unadulterated
integrity, educated and exposed, above all, tested and trusted. How many time
did Leo Ogor called a town hall meeting and account for his stewardship for the
fruitless and hopeless 16 years in office as a house of Rep. Member? Isoko
should be wise, bold, courageous to tell Leo Ogor the truth that enough is
enough of your deceit. Isoko people should come out from the shackle of fear
and know that one day we will surely die. We should not mortgage our future to
the hands of a selfish leader. Never again should we vote out our conscience
because of money. Leo has Insulted the entire Isoko both old and young for
attempting to come back. It is unfortunate that he ended his political career
with disgrace instead of as a hero. but
it is not so late for him to come and surrender for this one week that is remaining
instead of being disgrace in the battle field. Come to think of it, what
manifesto is he coming with? What is he going to tell the people? Even if Leo
Ogor Should bribes people with money to attend his rally, he can not pull half
of the crowd that Hon. Joel Onowakpo is Pulling. The kind of crowd that Joel is
Pulling is mysterious, is like both spirits and angels are part of the people.
We have not seen such in the history of Isoko Nation. Hon. Joel Onowakpo is a
goal. I advise all true servants of God to gather together to pray for wisdom for Hon. Joel Onowakpo
because in the realm of the spirit, the
election has been won and loose and the crown of glory has been given to
the David of our time who will not seat on power for 16 years. It is only greed
and wickedness that will make one man to be in a position for 16 years. What
are you really looking for? Leo, please prepare your load and start moving them
home now because the glory has departed from you. It is even a shame and
disgrace for you to climb any platform that you want to campaign talk of moving
from one ward to the other. Please, if you dont have anybody to advise you,
please advise yourself. I am ashame of you. Isoko people should rise up and
defend this greed and wickedness. A man should be able to live and die for something.
Enough is enough.
