When Pastors Arrest Pastors
By: Deji Yesufu
The 5th of May, 1789 is regarded as the day the French Revolution commenced. It lasted another ten years and ended with the enthroning of Napoleon Bonaparte as the Emperor of the French. A lot of things led to this revolution but a few is worth mentioning. There was lack of food on the streets of Parish. France had committed a lot of money to support the United States of America in their war of independence against the English. The result was a country that was liable to economic depression – and it happened. 1788 was a year that left France with one of its worst harvests so that wheat became expensive and people could not find bread to eat. In the midst of all these, the King of France, Louis XVI, and his family were feasting away. There were also the clergy that paid little attention to the suffering of the people. Before the revolution, enlightenment thinkers like Voltaire had won the hearts of the French through their writings, calling for the end of the monarchy and the dominance of the church in civil life. Voltaire died in 1778 but his writings, like those of other Enlightenment thinkers, had sown seeds of revolution in France. I tell this story to state that society is watching and people know those who are their friends and those who are the enemies of the state. When the revolution comes, evil will be consumed with it.
Today, it was reported that Apostle Festus Alilu was arrested yesterday evening by the Nigerian police. Saharareporters reported the news this way: “The arrest comes after Apostle Alilu posted a video on his official Facebook page in which he accused Pastor (Korede) Komaiya of misleading church members with fabricated prosperity teachings.” The popular online news medium stated that as of the time of making the report, Pastor Komaiya has not made any public statement on the matter. There is a popular Nigerian proverb that goes like this “… the witch cried yesterday, the child died today. Who does not know that it is the witch that killed the child…” There is no way we can know for a fact that Korede Komaiya arrested Festus Alilu until one takes the time to watch the video Alilu did and also to follow some recent trends, especially from individuals that Komaiya looks up to as a mentor in ministry. (After writing the draft of this article on Friday, 21st March 2025, I delayed publishing it; believing that a lot was still yet to be revealed. Today, Sunday, 23 March 2025, Festus Alilu published a video recanting his earlier statement and also admitting that it was Korede Komaiya that indeed got the police to arrest him).
In the video released, Festus Alilu holds nothing back in his criticism of Korede Komaiya. It is almost as if the two of them had some hidden quarrel. One makes this conclusion because it is not the tradition for Pentecostals to criticize themselves publicly. These men know that they have very little credibility among Nigerians, and they understand that self-criticism will not improve that image – it will instead damage it further. So, they stay away from criticizing themselves. If they do not support each other in public, they simply keep mum with regards to the ministry and style of others. Alilu brought an end to that tradition yesterday. He took a fellow Pentecostal and Prosperity preacher to the cleaners. He made it clear that Komaiya appears not to ever preach anything else but money. His grouse stems from the fact that critics of Pentecostals use the likes of Komaiya to lend credence to their position. He mentioned how Omoyele Sowore has said that Nigerian pastors cannot be trusted because they are simply in the ministry to make money. He explains that Komaiya’s message gives the likes of Sowore ammunition against the church. He was pretty scathing in his condemnation of Komaiya, while he appears to support David Oyedepo and Paul Eneche – the individuals that Komaiya is following in Christian ministry. Alilu would prefer that Komaiya is called to order, while the other preachers are left off the hook. To watch all of that and then hear that Alilu has been arrested, is to conclude quite easily that Komaiya might be behind Alilu’s predicament.
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Before we go any further with our discussion on when pastors arrest each other, it might help the readers to understand what the Bible teaches about the gospel of Prosperity. I wish to state unequivocally that the message of prosperity as it is taught by many preachers today, particularly those in the Pentecostal tradition, is patently false and it is a clear-cut heresy by biblical standards. The message of Prosperity is the offshoot of the Word of Faith doctrine which was propounded by Kenneth Hagin and his followers in ministry. The Word of Faith message teaches that Jesus Christ died to save men from sin and to make them healthy and wealthy. The first line of the previous sentence is biblical (Matthew 1:21; Luke 24:46-47; Ephesians 1:7). The second part of the line has no biblical basis whatsoever.
The Christian message was invented by Jesus Christ himself and was made complete by the teachings of the Apostles – particularly Paul. There is no account in the whole of the New Testament that teaches that Jesus Christ died to make Christians healthy and wealthy. The Word of Faith enthusiasts go to the Old Testament and wrest the words of Moses from Deuteronomy 28 to teach that Christians could live by certain blessings or fall in danger of certain curses. When you realize that the covenant of Moses was based on some 613 laws, and by breaking one of such laws, one finds himself enmity with God, you realize the reason why there was a need for a New Covenant that is ratified by the blood of Jesus; and that is never founded on some blessing or curses. Rather, the Christian is a blessed man – only (Ephesians 1:3). We need not fear curses – including the curse of death, sickness or poverty. We are safe in Christ Jesus. Amen. Unfortunately, the gospel of prosperity knows nothing of true spiritual riches. Rather, they would that Christians continue in a covenant of curses and blessings. This is what has produced the likes of Korede Komaiya, and we are yet to see the end of the evil of these men’s teachings.
Now, when pastors arrest pastors – especially those in the same theological tradition, understand that Jesus Christ is at work in the churches. The good thing about stories like these is that they give an opportunity for light to be shed on the question of what sound doctrine consists of. I can assure you that any pastor who resorts to the Nigerian police to silence his critics; such a person is not working according to biblical truths. Paul said that Christians should never resort to secular courts or authorities to resolve their issues (1 Corinthians 6:1ff). We bring those things to the courts of fellow believers – alone! Are there no Pentecostal pastors to whom these two men look up, and who can help resolve their issues? Why is it difficult for Korede Komaiya to take his own phone and make a response video to Alilu’s criticism? Why not a blog or an article to resolve the matter? Why do you have to use the Nigerian police to oppress your fellow pastor? I think I know why. You are now rich; you know people in the police force, and it will cost you nothing to pay them to oppress a fellow minister like you. When pastors resort to secular powers to arrest their fellow pastors, understand that there is no Holy Spirit to adjudge the matter between them.
It has taken our Lord Jesus Christ two thousand years to bring the church to where it is today. He could have done it in fifty years, but he chose this long a time to produce the right kind of spirit among God’s people. I can assure you that churches where ministers arrest each other are not churches that Jesus Christ is building. It is good to see that Pentecostal pastors are calling themselves to order. While some of us think that the whole gamut of the Word of Faith message should be expunged from the churches, it is a good beginning to have ministers critic each other’s ministry. It is not an entirely evil thing: Paul rebuked Peter before all of God’s people Galatians 2:11ff. Sometimes you carry out extreme measures to save the church from extreme evils. Our Lord is building his church. Amen.
Postscript:
As I have stated earlier, this article was written before Festus Alilu made his apology public. From the words he uttered in that video, it is clear that the young man had been cowered. It is also clear that Alilu made his original statement not out of conviction but, perhaps, to play to the gallery. He underestimated how far that video will go. As I have stated in my article above, I wish to repeat it here: the gospel of prosperity is heresy. No one that believes this message will go to heaven. Every person that made Alilu recant that video is not a servant of Jesus Christ; they will not be found in the kingdom of God. Korede Komaiya is a false teacher – and it behoves every right-thinking Christian to stay away from preachers like him.
Deji Yesufu is the pastor Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY and VICTOR BANJO.
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