Thursday, March 28, 2024

Nigerian Pastor says he has been targeted because he refused to pay a K30 000 bribe

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AUSTINE Obosele, a Nigerian pastor
AUSTINE Obosele, a Nigerian pastor

AUSTINE Obosele, a Nigerian pastor who was arrested on Tuesday by a joint operation of immigration and police officers in Lusaka for refusing deportation, says he is being targeted as known government officials have been asking for a K30,000 bribe from him to facilitate his stay.

And government will not renew the employment permit of Pastor Augustine Oso Ebosele of Omega Fire Ministries because his conduct has divided the congregation into two parties, says Government spokesperson Kampamba Mulenga.

Pastor Obosele said that he had presented tangible evidence of corruption to both the Ministry of Home Affairs, and the Ministry of Religious and National Guidance but that it was largely ignored.

Pastor Obosele explained he had been trying to renew his immigration documentation but that a named senior official from the Ministry of Religious National Guidance had vowed to see to it that the pastor was deported, upon him refusing to give him K30, 000 which he had demanded.

He said that some expelled members of the church had teamed up with the government officials so that they could take over the church, money in the church account and properties after his deportation.

Pastor Obosele said that some suspended members of the church had reported falsehoods about him to the Ministry of Religious Affairs and National Guidance, which they investigated but did not find any fault.

“I got a call from one man from Religious Affairs. This man can call thirty times in one minute, I don’t know how much they gave him. I went to the office to see him at his office, there he accused me of a lot and lots of things.

“From there he told me that I needed to cooperate with him because my deportation order is already on his table. He said if I don’t cooperate he would have me deported and I should give him K30, 000, to which I questioned whether it was his ministry that deported people,” he explained.

Pastor Obosele said that when his documents were up for renewal, he submitted to the Immigration but that he had found it difficult as was promised to get his papers cleared.

Omega Fire Ministries administrator, Lackson Mwanza also confirmed this information to the Daily Nation and said that the pastor was still in police custody.

And Ms Mulenga who issued the statement in Lusaka yesterday said the State through the Ministry of Home Affairs in collaboration with the Ministry of National Guidance and Religious Affairs would not renew the work permit of pastor Ebosele as his conduct was likely to divide the congregation.

Ms Mulenga who is Minister of Information and Broadcasting said it was feared that the pastor’s continued stay in Zambia and the acrimony in Omega Fire Minsietries could result into the breakdown of law and order.

37 COMMENTS

  1. This is Zambia my friend. You need to oil people if you want to stay. The Auditor General just released a report that K162 million is gone. You are worried about K30,000?

    • Why is government getting involved in church matters? This is a petty case for government to be intervening.

      How will the pastor’s continued stay in Zambia and the acrimony in Omega Fire Ministries result into breakdown of law and order? Let the pastor and his church members deal with each other.

    • Dividing a congregation into two parties or parts and you must be deported??

      How about PF and Chagwa who because of their election last year divided
      Zambia into two parts? …

    • This pastor is a liar. One unanswered call takes close to one minute and he says someone could call him about 30 times in a minute? If he has a country where he comes from, what is it that he wants so much in this country? #Chase and blacklist him.

    • These pentecoastal pastors are all just conmen. They are all in these preaching not for the gospel but for profit. There eyes are on money & material wealth. So religious id.iots who continue to be milked of your moneys every Sunday work up. You keep donating all your hard earned cash every sunday to these conmen & you even cheat yoselves that you are giving to God?? Giving to Christ is by helping the poor. Understand your bible you religious fo.ols

    • @ Shooterz, for some reason you write: “This pastor is a liar. One unanswered call takes close to one minute and he says someone could call him about 30 times in a minute?”

      Uh-huh. And for this reason you think he is lying about being solicited for a bribe… by the incorruptible people in GRZ? Serious? I suppose too you literally expect to see cats and dogs falling from the sky when someone says “it’s raining cats and dogs”. Get a life.

    • The chap should have oiled the bosses and kept quiet. This is Zambia. Deportation was the right call. Next time let him stay in prison

  2. If it hard to believe anything from a man who claims to be a prophet yet cannot wait for rewards in heaven and lives his life on profits.
    You guillable people who will believe anything! No wonder lenshina fed you urine!

  3. IN THE FIRST PLACE ARE PASTORS AMONG THE IMMIGRANT PEOPLE WITH SPECIAL SKILLS ZAMBIA NEEDS? IF NOT WHY DOES ZAMBIA GIVE WORK PERMITS TO PASTORS AND OTHER CHURCH FIMO FIMOS? DON’T WE HAVE MORE THAN ENOUGH MEN AND WOMEN WHO DID RELIGIOUS KNOWLEDGE STUDIES?

  4. We don’t need pastors from Nigeria. Deport this guy. There are are more spiritual problems in Nigeria than we have in Zambia.

  5. Religion is big business by our brothers from West Africa.

    Brother Pastor, just go back to Nigeria. There are more people to win to Christ than in Zambia.

  6. That conman/fake pastor had all the time to report that corrupt official long b 4 he cud face the deportation, y dd he delay in reporting? Brother conman, just GO back and restart you business back home and govt officials at the said ministry pls ignore him.
    P.M

  7. I am nigerian TRY TO DEPORT this man of GOD , ZAMBIA CHIPOLOPOLO will never beat SUPER EAGLES in all international matches and will make sure CHIPOLOPOLO NEVER QUALIFIES TO EITHER AFCON NOR WORLD CUP because in whatever comptetition NIGERIA will make sure we are pitted in the same group , and we HAMMER U BACK TO BACK, KUMENYA TOO MUCH

  8. So this pastor is more worried about other people taking over Church accounts and properties than preaching Gospel?
    This is one reason i dont trust many Pentecost churches.many pastors in those churches are simply after money.for them its pure business instead of saving the lost souls.THIS PASTOR IS A CROOK SO LET HIM BE DEPORTED TO NIGERIA!!WE HAVE ENOUGH ZAMBIAN PASTORS!!
    moreover,this pastor is just making up stories over the K30 000 issue.can such a crook pay anybody a k30 000 bribe?BIG NO!!

  9. We are a Christian nation thus we need to solve everything and anything in an amicable Christian manner….let’s not insult God over an individual.

  10. We are worried about $1m fire tenders so what is K30,000 ($3000) to make headlines ?
    Arent you the same people that have been reaping off poor Zambians through all these mushrooming of magician churches through the sale of pure water/ oil ?
    You reap what you sow afterall you dont even pay Tithe galu iwe !

    • You must be a frustrate Id.iot to think like that. Let that I’d.iot go back where he comes from. Nigeria has More problems than Zambia eg boko Haram, witchcraft, corruption etc. So let the conman go back and help his country. We don’t need him

  11. Oh no ,not these rotten filthy crooked Nigerians again.These fufu eating mongrels are known for running scams all over the world.

  12. I am not a fun of the ever growing number of faith organisations being formed by dishonest exploitative pastors, but objectively, is the fact that a church has become divided enough reason to deport its pastor? Am I missing something here? In terms of due process, is this a reasonable ground?

  13. These pentecoastal pastors are all just conmen. They are all in these preaching not for the gospel but for profit. There eyes are on money & material wealth. So religious id.iots who continue to be milked of your moneys every Sunday work up. You keep donating all your hard earned cash every sunday to these conmen & you even cheat yoselves that you are giving to God?? Giving to Christ is by helping the poor. Understand your bible you religious fo.ols

  14. I am not a fan of Nigerians, pastors, prophets or not; but to give the pastor 48 hrs to leave Zambia is wrong; the man has no capacity to cause law and order chaos in Zambia; 28 days is the standard given to anyone to be deported in democratic countries; Lungu and PF have brought more chaos in Zambia than this man; i think it all comes to use of church offerings that he is accused of; corruption by PF has gone to the Religious affairs; Government should just ban the externalization of church offerings to the church headquarters and this will solve the problem with these Nigerian pastors;

  15. I did not know that Zambia gives foreign pastors work permit….we have many Zambians who can pastor in that church…foreigners should only be allowed to work in Zambia on the basis that we Zambians do not have those skills….
    So they come to Zambia for employment as pastors….really?? Nigerians should stay in their country….they have sinners there than here in Zambia….(Stats….300 million nigerians against 15 million zambians)….

    Any foreigner pastor should be sent back to their country….we do not need therm at all….fake miracles….fake water….fake everything….

  16. (It takes calmness and quietness to stop the waves, the opposite of this we know!) I refer this to the clip on prime TV. on the same window were the pastor and the wife were talking as if its a fight……..
    lets emulate the bible apostles in every trial they were obedient to the Law, when presented a chance to speak, wisdom and the gospel was their food. Luke 12:11
    Romans 13:1
    Titus 3:1- 2
    And there is a Video clip of his mentor Suleman threatening the country Zambia for a situation like this, when the problem is from within the same church members.

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