peace with themselves, what will they
teach their members?
As you read these, two churches –
The Redeemed Christian Church of
God, Heaven's Gate parish and a
new church known as Praise Ever
Ministry – are at daggers drawn
over a piece of land on Fagbile
Road, Fagbile Estate, Ijegun area
of Lagos State.
It is said that every Sunday, there
is always drama at the entire area
as both churches simultaneously
conducted their Sunday service on
the same ground. What a shame!
But what really led to this mess
between the two churches? Hear what
both church leaders are saying:
Leader of Praise Ever Ministry,
Evangelist (Ms.) Evelyn Calistus, told
Punch that she got the land on a lease
in 2007 from the owner, one Mr. Yusuf
Tijani.
In her words: "We came here in
February 2007. We rented the place
from Mr. Yusuf Tijani. It was a thick
bush then. In 2011, we paid another
rent due to elapse at the end of 2014.
But in December 2012, Tijani came here
and told us that he wanted to sell the
land, adding that he needed N6.5m for
it in two weeks. We told him we could
not raise the money and that we
needed a little time.
"My family had accommodation
problem, and so we moved into the
church's office in January 2013."
The evangelist said that trouble started
in April 2013 after Tijani went ahead
and sold the land to the RCCG.
She said that Redeemed church's
leadership insisted that she moved out
of the property despite the fact that
her rent is still running. She added that
the church did not offer her any
compensation.
According too Evangelist Evelyn, " On
April 28, 2013, we saw a crowd singing
under a mango tree near the church's
premises, saying God had given them
the land . On the following Sunday, the
RCCG pastor and Tijani came to the
church and announced that the parish
had bought the place."
She alleged that since then, the RCCG
parish had made life difficult for her
church members, seeking to take
possession of the land and ignoring her
pleas that her rent had not run out.
The female Evangelists added: "In
August, 2013, they brought a signboard
and put it at the back of my office.
Every Sunday they would come to
conduct their Sunday service and
insisted that we leave. Later, they used
their canopy to block our church
entrance. Anytime their pastor sees our
members coming into the church, he
would leave the pulpit and challenged
them ."
A petition written by the Festus
Keyamo Chambers for the Praise
Ministry, to the Lagos State
Commissioner of Police and General
Overseer of the RCCG, Pastor Enoch
Adeboye, alleged that " (Evangelist)
Evelyn had also been threatened that it
is either she leaves the place alive or
that they will carry her dead body
away."
The female evangelist, however, said
she is making moves to see Pastor
Adeboye, believing such would settle
the problem once and for all.
In his reaction:
The RCCG Chief Legal Officer, Pastor
Ayodele Oladeji, who spoke for the
church, told The Punch that all the
issues are being resolved.
"I am aware of the case. What really
happened was that the RCCG parish
bought the land from the owner. I also
learnt that it had been offered to Pastor
Evelyn's church earlier, but they could
not raise the money.
"We did not agree with the parish's
plan of ejecting them immediately; we
believe they should follow all legal
formality before taking over the place.
We agreed that both the parish and the
RCCG province in the area should see
to their relocation.
On the threat to Calistu's life, he said,
" I don't think they can threaten to kill
her. I believe she is afraid . I have met
with those people and seen them
personally. RCCG does not stand for
that."
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