The General Overseer, Prophet Obas Kayode of Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) Church has narrowly escaped death following a bloody clash over the control of a wing of the church and bitter leadership tussle over alleged financial impropriety.
Church loyalists to the sons of the founding General Overseer of the church, Prophet Oni Jolugba on May 19, 2014 were allegedly said to have razed down the pastor's multi-million naira 50 room hotel, pharmaceutical company in Isanlu, Kogi State, 10 vehicles belonging to guests, three cars in the pastor's residence and locking up his wife.
Trouble started last year when the disagreement occurred between the Pastor and the two biological children of the founding GO Jolugba; Tope and Michael allegedly over the plans to sell the headquarters of the church to another denomination which led to the intervention of the traditional ruler of the town and some leaders of the community who advised Jolugba’s successor to leave the church property for the founder’s children and find another place of worship.
As a result, Obas and some members of the church were said to have relocated to another building as their new worship centre. Tope and Michael were however alleged to have gone there on February 16 this year to set the house ablaze.
Findings reveal that the church was founded by late Prophet Oni Jolugba, an itinerant tailor who received the call of God in Ikare Akoko, Ondo State in the early 70s. With time, the church grew in leaps and bounds as Jolugba acclaimed to be a miracle working prophet became renowned with the calibre of worshippers and patronage such that the founder, a stark illiterate soon became an international guest in the UK and US where he has branches.
Due to the swift expansion, it was gathered, the founder had to relocate the headquarters of the church to his country home, Isanlu, headquarters of Yagba East local government area of Kogi State for easy administration.
It was further learnt that Obas Kayode, an orphan from Mopa, a neigbouring town, was adopted as a foster son and brought up by Jolugba.
Obas now in his 40s was said to be so submissive to the founder, that he ( Jolugba) trained him through school and he graduated as a pharmacist from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile Ife in 1997.
It was also learnt that after his internship and youth service, Obas settled down in Isanlu and started to operate a pharmacy shop which later became the largest drug store in the entire local government area.
He was also said to have added hospitality business into his area of interest by building a-50-bedroom hotel in the town.
Few years to his death, Jolugba, the founder of the church was said to have declared in one of their national conventions that Obas was his next successor and even went ahead to anoint and consecrate him as such in the presence of trustee members and the council of elders of the church. He was said to have passed on in July 2011 after which Obas became the substantive GO.
The pastor, Kayode Obas speaking on the attack said: “Their target was to sell the church headquarter to another denomination, we are not quarreling with them over Baba’s personal property, but the headquarters was collectively built by us. We even left the building for them as advised by elders, but they came to where we hired and burnt it down again, I have lost over N750 million including cars, buildings and other property.
“Some people in the town are inciting them against me, because they say I am not a native of the town and have amassed so much wealth, so they are hiding under this crisis to ruin and even kill me. The children 13 to their dad, but I showed them all the docusaid all the property I laboured for belonged ments of my business registration, no where was the name of Jolugba seen as business partner or the owner of the business.
“They said because I used Jolu- Kayo as my business name, the company is jointly owned by me and their father whereas I used that acronym to honour their dad who is also my foster dad. The member representing Yagba East constituency, Henry Ojuola was one of them, he even came to our church to incite members against us and he was the one who went to bail those arrested over the crisis, he is also boasting that no body will be prosecuted over the case.
When contacted on the crisis, the deputy general leader of the church who is based in Omuo Ekiti, Suprintendent A. A Adeyemo said “ these boys don’t understand anything about Jah Zion Church, when we were contributing money to build the church, the children were no where to be found, they were even attending a different church with their mum.”
Also speaking on the issue, Special Apostle Oluyori who is in charge of the church in Akure, Ondo State said “we have talked to these children they are adamant, children don’t inherit their father’s church, I am a co- founder of the church but since Baba handed over the church to Obas Kayode, we must follow him.”
The leader of the church in Kabba, Apostle Peter Jimoh in his own reaction said, “these children want to destroy the good name of their father. We are not interested in their father’s personal property, but the church belongs to us, and Jolugba. Before he died, he handed over the leadership of the church to Obas Kayode, and wherever he is going, that’s where we will go.”
Meanwhile Hon. Henry Ojuola has however denied the allegations saying: How can I incite people to burn his property? I truly went to their church to preach peace to them and not to incite anybody against him. While reacting to bailing the suspects he said: "Yes I took their bail at the police station, because they are members of my constituency, even those recently arrested for the burning, I will go and give them N10, 000 for feeding. Until the law court pronounces them guilty, I can not do so, it is only natural that as their representative, any time anybody runs into trouble, they will call me, that is all”.
Efforts to get the reaction of Michael and Tope Jolugba as well as their mum proved abortive.
The memory of that day is not of good but of bitterness, anguish and emotional trauma. It would remain a day he wishes never occurred in view of the calamity that visited him.It was the day the devil chose some arsonists to bring to ruin all that he has labored for.
Jolukayo is a young enterprising man until that day when some people instituted an emergency “Oro” ( a traditional festival) which arsonists took advantage of to burn to ashes all that belonged to him.
The arsonists burnt down his three-storey hotel along with 10 vehicles belonging to his customers lodging there, his business complex that housed his pharmaceutical office, his computer center with close to 100 computers and building shops. Not done, the arsonists stormed his personal building which he just completed and moved into and razed it.
It was divine grace that saved his family from being lynched..
What could have led to this large scale destrruction?
Though those behind the mayhem are yet to be made known, the tragedy came to Jolukajo amid a family squabble. The police, however, said there was no evidence to link the family with the destruction.
FAMILY TROUBLE
The family, which raised Jolukayo, had allegedly been against him ever since his adopted father, Prophet Jolugba, died.
When Joluba, founder and General Overseer of Jah Zion Worldwide, was about to die some years ago, he was said to have anointed Jolukayo as his successor. As if the late prophet had premonition of what was to happen after his demise, Joluba was said to have used one Sunday sermon to intimate his church members with his imminent death and also raised Jolukayo’s hand up as the spiritual head after his demise.
Three years after the founder’s death, some of the children, however, began to demand from Jolukayo to relinquish the church to them. To them, Kayode was sitting on their father’s inheritance. And as far as they were concerned, Kayode was an adopted child and should have no right to their father’s ‘properties’.
The tussle over church control was alleged to be the beginning of Jolukayo travails in Isanluland.
In truth, Jolukayo never said he was a biological child of the late Prophet. He admitted he was adopted by the late prophet at the age of three when the founder came to beg his biological father to release him during a crusade.
Kayode said the General Overseer picked him out of the crowd during the crusade to pray for the congregation saying that he possessed some spiritual gifts. “My father released me to him and I lived with the prophet until I started my own family.”
It was the interest the late overseer had in him that made him to train Kayode to the university where he graduated as a pharmacist.
Kayode in returning the good deed of the Overseer named all his businesses as Jolukayo: Jolu from the first four letters of his adopted father, and Kayo from the first four letters of his name. The hotel, pharmaceutical office, laboratory, computer center, building shops and others were named so.
However the family trouble over the ownership of the church degenerated to a level that some children of the late prophet were said to have dragged him to the police station asking the police to persuade him to hands off the church. Some of the children even claimed that the hotel, and other properties also belonged to their late father.
Kayode was said to have shown the police that all the properties and businesses were registered in him name, it is only in name that the late prophet showed up. The police was said to have begged both warring factions to desist from using the church premises until the matter was settled.
When the situation became unbearable, Kayode allegedly announced to the church of his intention to leave the premises for the prophet’s children; many of the church elders and members were said to have followed him to his new church.
Kayode new church in a matter of time received more members; a situation that led the children to ask him to drop Jay Zion as the name of his church. Kayode was said to have insisted on retaining the name on the account that the late prophet asked him not to drop it.
It was in the process of settling the issues that, weeks later, Jolukayo’s properties were burnt by some yet unknown arsonists.
JEALOUSY
The connection of the community was alleged to be the involvement of the ‘Oro’ which the arsonists were said to have hid under to perpetuate the mayhem.
The day the arson was carried out, the ‘Oro’ was said to have surfaced in the day time. The ‘Oro’ is not organised by one person but by the community..It is a traditional festival organised on special occasions.
The festival is not for celebration. It is only out when the community is preparing to instal a new king, and other times; especially when there is a calamity believed to have been caused by witches or wizards.
Sunday Vanguard also gathered that the community also brings out ‘Oro’ whenever they want somebody out of their land.
The ‘Oro’ festival was allegedly instituted in the community in the 80s to drive out an influential farmer who allegedly was involved in “Keda” (a situation where by dead persons are commanded to work in the farm as labourers).
But Jolukayo was not a farmer, he was a businessman who hadineen involved in buying and selling of medicine since his undergraduate days.. He was said to be planning to commence the production of table water before the arsonists struck, and the equipment for the water company also destroyed by the mayhem.
One of the Isanlu residents said, “The good fortune combined with his youthful age of just 40 years old angered some of the people who felt he was too successful. I must confess to you that many people viewed him with disdain, wondering why it was only his businesses that continued to thrive in the area. They are also angry because he is not a native of Isanlu. Kayode is an indigene of Mopa, a very close town to Isanlu though.”.
It was as a result of this that some of the community members were said to have hid under the pretense of the ‘Oro’ festival to inflict this pain on him. While he was not in town on the said day, his wife and children were only lucky to escape the attack when the arsonists stormed his house, burning the house, his three cars after extending their action to his hotel, his business building and office vehicles.
Kayode said what he lost was close to N1 billion.
LEGISLATOR’S CONNECTION
The lawmaker representing Yagba east at the state House of Assembly, Hon. Henry Ojuola, was mentioned as a supporter of the unjust cause from the community.
But Ojuola denied being involved with the arsonists.
Ojuola said he has personal and intimate relationship with the embattled Kayode and would never have supported the unjust cause.
“Last year when my daughter was getting married . I rented the hotel because it was the best in the land. Kayode gave me a discount. This is to show you that we are close. In few months time, one of my children will be getting married, in which hotel am I going to host my guests?”, Ojuola stressed.
‘I have taken it in good faith’
Kayode however said though his loss is painful, he is trying to pick the pieces of his life back. “The late prophet has hinted me that something like this may occur. I didn’t know it will come to this high level. I have taken it in good faith as one of those things that happen to mankind,” he said.
He, nevertheless, has this to say: “I will never go back to that land again, and I doubt it if any good thing will visit that community again. I have relocated and will restart my business no matter how small. I know I will bounce back.”
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