Protesters Storm COZA Headquarte, Demand Pastor Fatoyinbo’s Resignation

Following the rape allegation leveled against the founder of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA), Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo, by a popular musician, Timi Dakolo’s wife, Mrs. Busola Dakolo,  human rights groups and other Nigerians yesterday took protest to the church headquarters in Abuja and its worship centre in Lagos to call for the resignation of the clergy man, pending the determination of the case by a competent court.

However, the Federal Capital Territory Police Command said it was yet to receive any formal complaint against Fatoyinbo.

But as early as 7a.m. yesterday, protesters had already arrived at the church premises in Abuja carrying several placards with different inscriptions to send in their messages and demands to the public.

It was gathered that before their arrival, heavy security presence including that of men from the Department of State Security Services (DSS) and men from the Nigerian Police Force, had been stationed at the front of the church premises as the church’s protocol officers in a chained hands formed a barricade around the Abuja church, to prevent the protestants from gaining entrance into the church premises.

In Lagos, only few security operatives were available as the protesters took turns to scream for the removal of Fatoyinbo through public address system.

There were altercations between the protesters and security operatives, as a result of uncivil behaviour of some of the operatives, who were accused of manhandling them.

Some of the inscriptions written on the placards are: “Rape is not a gift from God,” “Pastor step down. No to rape,” “The altar of God needs sanctification,” “I stand with Busola Dakolo.”

Tension gripped the entire Guzape Hill neighbourhood, Abuja, as different activist groups made up of youths, including the #ChurchTooMovement, laid siege to COZA as early as 8 a.m. and blocked the access road leading to the church, from the NNPC filling station.

One of the conveners of #BringBackOurGirls, Aisha Yesufu, was among the crowd of protesters, clad in white t-shirts and touting different placards outside the church premises. Their placards were inscribed with stirring messages like ‘Thou shall not rape,’ ‘No to sexual abuse in my church’ among others.

Trouble, however, ensued after they were pushed back by policemen, officers of the DSS and some thugs, allegedly hired by the church, shortly after they started to march to the church building along Nasir el-Rufai Road.

The heavily armed policemen were brought to the church in about eight patrol vehicles. They prevented the protesters from marching into the church.

While the members of the #ChurchTooMovement were protesting, some church members, workers and street urchins in tattered garbs, appeared from the opposing direction with their own placards, in solidarity with the embattled pastor.

One of the #ChurchTooMovement conveners, Ms. Bukola Shonibare, told THISDAY that the allegation of rape against the pastor was too strong and enough for him to step down and allow for proper inquisition.

Shonibare condemned the rising incidences of sexual abuse against women in the country.

She also vowed that they would ensure that Dakolo gets a closure against the pastor by protesting at the office of the Attorney General of the Federation, Inspector General of Police and all relevant federal authorities.

She also charged the Board and leadership of COZA to immediately investigate the allegation leveled against the pastor, who must in addition step down from the pulpit to allow a thorough investigation.

She also tasked the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) and the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN) and other relevant Christian bodies to wade into the matter.

“Allegations of human rights violations, especially sexual abuses, have become prevalent in the church today. The pattern and repetitiveness of these allegations is worrisome, one that calls for urgent and immediate action. We believe that leaders in positions of authority must be subjected to scrutiny and accountability and desist from taking advantage of their positions of influence and power over their members, which often causes unquantifiable and sometimes, irredeemable damages to the victims,” Shonibare said.

The social media was likewise not spared, as the protest sparked up several debates and counter opinions on Twitter and Instagram. One of the respondents with the username,@ayosoginro said, “For all those who think the energy of #COZA should be directed to politics, this is politics. The oppression of women is a part of the systems of oppression that ultimately end in the oppression of the whole country. There will be no political change without social change. Too many educated derelicts among us who just went to school but don’t think. And there’s a growing number who didn’t but because they make money they assume they are knowledgeable.”

Another user, @donsidink said, “Seriously, I’m disappointed in most people on this case. I get to learn brain is scarce and understand the main reason why the politicians kept deceiving us every time is because we have lot of fools than the brave ones in this country. So, he’s guilty by your standards but not innocent by his members’. 

Busola have her side of the story and the pastor said his. You have chosen to believe Busola’s story which is your right but COZA members can’t believe their pastor because it negates your truth. Think again.”

There was also a counter protest organised by the church in solidarity with the embattled pastor.

But while the protest was going on, the church, conducted a session of testimonies that featured some female members who attested to how they had benefited from the church under Fatoyinbo’s leadership.

They said they had witnessed dramatic improvements in their lives since they started worshipping in the church.

Fatoyinbo later addressed worshippers during which he announced the suspension of the church’s yearly programme of fasting for seven days. The programme was initially billed to start from today.

He said he had to suspend the special programme titled, ‘Seven Days of Glory’ that usually takes place from July 1 to July 7, to avoid protesters from embarrassing invited preachers.

He said: “We will have prayers for those who are interested in coming but we are not going to have the seven days of glory. It has been suspended because I don’t want all those kind of stuff.

“So, if you want to pray, come but the regular seven days of prayer, having preachers, come in, you don’t want to put your guest speakers through that. We love to host people properly.”

As he spoke, the worshippers interrupted his speech with chants of ‘We love you pastor.’

“As we start our fasting, even though we are not doing the seven days of glory (programme) as we usually do, those of you who are led to come and pray here, as you come, the Lord will lift you up,” he stated.

He also got a morale booster from his wife, Modele, who dismissed allegation of rape against her husband.

She said: “Not even as an unbeliever would my husband rape someone. Hello, let me talk, please, not even as an unbeliever.”

But her husband interrupted her speech and said: “The elders are stepping into it, please let them handle it,” in an apparent reference to the allegation.

Meanwhile, the FCT Police Command said it was yet to receive any formal complaint against the pastor.

Operatives of the Department of State Security Service (DSS) and Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) had Saturday cordoned off the church premises to a avert any breakdown of law and order.

Bukola, wife of popular musician, Timi Dakolo, had accused the COZA pastor of defiling her.

Fatoyinbo has since denied the allegations, saying he never raped anybody even as an unbeliever.

But Dakolo had alleged that the pastor raped her severally at age 16, exploiting his relationship with her parents who were members of the church.

She further alleged that the pastor had told her after the rape incident that she should be happy that “a man of God did this to you.”

Dakolo’s revelation had triggered protests by different groups asking the pastor to step down.

Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) also condemned the incident saying it was “ungodly, wicked and reprehensible.”

But in a chat with THISDAY, the Commissioner of Police, FCT Command, Mr. Bala Ciroma, said as at yesterday, he was yet to receive any formal complaint against the COZA pastor.

“I wouldn’t know if they have written. This is weekend and offices are closed. I don’t know if they have reported to any of my divisions. As at today (yesterday), we are yet to receive any formal complaint,” he said.

The CP said if a complaint is received, the command would look at “the merits and demerits” of the case.

“We should be able to tell the truth of what we have seen. It is normal; that is the routine. If there is a formal complaint, we will look into it,” he said.

SERAP Condemns Arbitrary Arrest of Protesters

Meanwhile, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) has strongly condemned the harassment, repression and arbitrary arrests by Nigerian law enforcement and security agents of anti-rape activists, who have been peacefully protesting today outside the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA), Abuja.

In a statement by SERAP Deputy Director, Mr. Kolawole Oluwadare, the organization said: “The Nigerian authorities must immediately and unconditionally release all those detained and allow them to exercise their rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.”

Omololu Ogunmade, Chuks Okocha in Abuja, Adibe Emenyonu in Benin City, George Okoh in Makurdi and Segun James in Lagos 

The presidency last night in Abuja reacted to the raging condemnations of the move by the federal government to establish rural grazing areas (RUGA) in states, saying the federal government had no plan to impose the idea on any state.

It described the idea as a voluntary concept conceived to end protracted conflicts among herders and locals and simultaneously put paid to the threat of deprivation and loss of people’s freedom.

The presidency made this position known through a statement by a presidential spokesman, Malam Garba Shehu.

According to the statement, 12 states have so far applied to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture for participation in the programme, adding that the number is enough for the pilot phase of the project.

The statement accused some state leaders, which it said had not applied for the project and also not on the invitation list of the government, of fuelling the controversy and advised states to cooperate with the federal government in its search for a solution to the lingering crisis.

“Stripped of the politics and howling that has attended the recent comments, there is no government plan to seize state land, colonize territory or impose Ruga on any part of the federation. Government has made it clear time and again that the programme is voluntary.

“So far, 12 states have applied to the Federal Ministry of Agriculture, making lands available for the take-off of the scheme in their states. This number is sufficient for the pilot scheme.

“Unfortunately, some state governments that have not signified interest in the scheme and, therefore, are not on the invitation list have been misleading people that the federal government is embarking on a scheme to take away their lands.

“Mostly, these are state leaders that have no explanation to offer their people for continued non-payment of workers’ salaries. It is true that government at the centre has gazetted lands in all states of the federation but because the idea is not to force this programme on anyone, the government has limited the take-off to the dozen states with valid requests.

“We urge states to join the federal government at the centre in encouraging all sides to these conflicts to make efforts towards finding a peaceful resolution. As we seek a permanent solution to these unwanted conflicts, efforts must be made to ensure that no innocent person faces any kind of deprivation or loss of right and freedom under our laws,” the statement said.

The statement which further said the idea was meant to contain the roaming of cattle herders and the consequent clashes they often have with farmers, added that RUGA would help to settle the herders in an organised place with the provision of basic facilities.

Explaining that the project would also be beneficial to all and sundry who engage in animal husbandry, presidency insisted that RUGA would help to end open grazing and the security threat it posed to both farmers and herders.

It listed other benefits of the project to include a boost in animal protection including the quality of hygiene of the herd, beef and milk production as well as other accruable benefits such as job creation and access to credit facilities.

It added: “‘Ruga Settlement’ that seeks to settle migrant pastoral families simply means rural settlement in which animal farmers, not just cattle herders, will be settled in an organized place with provision of necessary and adequate basic amenities such as schools, hospitals, road networks, vet clinics, markets and manufacturing entities that will process and add value to meats and animal products.

“Beneficiaries will include all persons in animal husbandry, not only Fulani herders. The federal government is planning this in order to curb open grazing of animals that continue to pose security threats to farmers and herders.

“The overall benefit to the nation includes a drastic reduction in conflicts between herders and farmers, a boost in animal protection complete with a value chain that will increase the quality and hygiene of livestock in terms of beef and milk production, increased quality of feeding and access to animal care and private sector participation in commercial pasture production by way of investments.

“Other gains are job creation, access to credit facilities, security for pastoral families and curtailment of cattle rustling.”

Again, Southern, Middle Belt Leaders, Reject Policy

The Southern and Middle Belt Leaders Forum (SMBLF) yesterday sustained its opposition to the establishment of Ruga settlements for herdsmen, warning the federal government to review its decision.

Also, communities under the Akpa Community Development Association (ACDA) in Otukpo, Benue State, have condemned the hoisting of Ruga settlement signpost in the area, describing those that erected it as criminals.

SMBLF in a statement by Messrs Yinka Odumakin (South-west), Prof. Chigozie  Ogbu (South-east), Senator Bassey Henshaw (South-south) and Dr. Isuwa Dogo (Middle Belt), said the Ruga settlements were in furtherance of the ethnic domination and conquest of the Fulani in Nigeria, with the alleged encouragement of the Muhammadu Buhari administration.

“The idea is repugnant, repulsive and provocative as it seeks to colonise  the rest of Nigeria under the guise of promoting cattle rearing, which is private business that should not have the involvement of any responsible government, as lining the might of the federal government behind the business of one ethnic group in a multi-ethnic country like Nigeria can only come from a government that is not interested in its unity,” SMBLF  said.

The forum argued that in the last four years, “We have seen the rate at which the Fulani herdsmen have turned non-Fulani communities into killing fields with the government turning a blind eye to all their crimes while using the instrumentalities of state to defend and shield them from interrogation.”

It said that the SMBLF was in Benue State in January 2018 where over 73 people were killed in one day by suspected Fulani herdsmen and then in other various communities in the last four years through the shedding of innocent blood by marauders.

“We challenge the federal government to tell us any court in the country where any herdsman is being tried today for all the killings, kidnappings, raping of women and destruction of farmlands they have carried out against innocent citizens. As if the sinful silence of the government is not enough, it has now decided on a provocative measure to secure territories for them in all the 36 states of the federation,” it said.

In Benue State, the National President of ACDA, Dr. Fidelis Otebe, said it was an act of criminality to erect the signpost despite protests from the state that the people did not want any settlement for herders in their domain.

Otebe said yesterday that he had consulted Akpa sons and daughters at home and in the Diaspora and they rejected the intention of the federal government to establish grazing reserves in Akpa land.

“The people have no land to give as grazing reserves in whatever form to anybody, including Fulani herdsmen and Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resource,” he added.

He said as agrarian settlers, who earned their living through cultivation of agricultural crops, the people have no land for grazing reserves and warned those with the idea to locate the grazing reserves in Akpa to stay clear from the area.

According to him, the people have given land to Agricultural Training Institute, Otobi;  Otukpo Multipurpose Dam, Otobi; University of Health Sciences, Akwete;  Federal Government College; and Federal Government Tourism Centre for Crafts, among others where compensation were paid to the people.

Meanwhile, the Edo State Government has said that it has not donated land or showed any interest in the project.

Special Adviser, Media and Communication Strategy to the governor, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, said in Benin City yesterday that the reason behind the passive interest of the state was that the state government had agricultural programmes that cut across farm settlement, fisheries, livestock and other animal husbandries.

According to him, this is why the governor has not made a commitment on the matter or move to donate land for the project.

However, despite the protests of the establishment of Ruga settlements for Fulani herdsmen, the federal government has commenced the award of contracts for the projects in some states, THISDAY’s investigation has revealed.

THISDAY gathered that the cost of eight-brick Ruga infrastructure with sanitary facilities awarded in Taraba State was N166.3 million.

Taraba is one of the 12 states where the Ruga settlement for herders is to be set up, under a pilot scheme to test run the programme aimed at finding a lasting solution to the perennial clashes between herders and farmers over grazing routes and destruction of farm produce.

Other states are: Adamawa, Plateau, Kaduna, Sokoto, Nasarawa, Kogi, Katsina, Kebbi, Benue, Zamfara and Niger.

THISDAY, however, gathered that despite the stiff opposition to the scheme, the federal government had commenced the award of contracts for the construction of the settlements.

In one of the letters of contract dated May 21, 2019, and signed by a Director in the Federal Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Developments, one of the contractors was directed to mobilise to contract site in Taraba State and ensure that the contract was delivered within four weeks and according to specifications.

The contractor was warned against asking for contract variation, as it would not be entertained.

Source:  THISDAY