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Protesters Attack Lagos High Court, Asking for Immediate Release of Former MFM Chorister, Ayotunde Richards, Detained Over Alleged Defamnation Against Church Founder, Olukoya
At the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, on Thursday, members of the Women Arise for Change platform and the Coalition of Civil Society organizations made a protest against the ongoing imprisonment of gospel singer Ayotunde Richard, a former member of Mountain of Fire and Miracle Ministries (MFM).
With signs criticizing the Nigeria Police Force for defying court orders asking for the detainee’s release, protesters gathered in front of the court.
They called for Ayotunde Richards’ quick release while praising him. One of the activists told SaharaReporters that Pastor Daniel Olukoya, the founder of MFM Church, was oppressing people with the help of the police.
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The protester said, “The police are being used by Olukoya to oppress the citizens. Is the Nigeria Police Force a stakeholder in the Mountain Of Fire Ministry church? Why are they so concerned with what people are saying about the activities of Olukoya in the MFM church?
“Members and ex-members are crying out against the atrocities going on inside MFM and instead of the government to look into the crimes against humanity going on inside MFM, the police are suing victims of the leadership of the church.
“Olukoya has been clamping down on anyone who tries to expose his atrocities as the leader of the church, either with lawsuits or police arrests and detentions. Even bloggers abroad are not left out. He takes them to court using his pastor and branches abroad.
“We are calling on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to investigate the activities of MFM and Olukoya.”
Ayotunde Richards was to be remanded to the Ikoyi Custodial Center, per an order from Justice Ambrose Allagoa of the Federal High Court located in Ikoyi, Lagos State.
This is pending the Wednesday bail application hearing for Ayotunde Richards.
According to reports gotten on Monday from his attorney, Mr. Adesina Ogunlana, that his client had been charged and tried before the court earlier in the day.
“Ayotunde Richards will be brought back to the court before Justice Allagoa on Wednesday for his bail application.
“Also today, he was at the Lagos High Court, Ikeja for his own case before Justice D.T. Olatokun. That was for his fundamental human rights application and that was adjourned to April 29, 2024,” Ogunlana said.
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Ayotunde Richards was charged by the Nigeria Police Force in response to a petition filed by Davidson Adejuwon, a lawyer and alleged assistant to Olukoya, the founder of the MFM church.
The lawyer accused Ayotunde Richards and others in the petition of defaming and criticizing Olukoya and engaging in various forms of cyberbullying.
Davidson filed the case on behalf of Mrs. Sanni, an Olukoya aide who was allegedly bothered by the cleric’s worries regarding Olukoya on social media.
Olukoya was not the petition’s signatory.
In addition, Ayotunde Richards sued Olukoya for allegedly violating his fundamental human rights.
The Nigeria Police Force, Tawose Ayoleyi Ajayi, the Superintendent of Police, and Davison Olaniran Adejuwon, Esq. are the other respondents in this lawsuit.
The Nigeria Police Force, Olukoya, Davidson, and Ajayi are the first, second, third, and fourth respondents, in that order.
The head of the cleric’s backing vocalists, Ayotunde, said that Olukoya had used his power to have him imprisoned for eight days at the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon, Ikoyi.
He called the police’s detention of him unlawful, harsh, and a blatant misuse of authority.
Ayotunde’s immediate release was ordered by Justice Olatokun of the High Court in Ikeja, according to reports that surfaced last Friday.
The police, however, disobeyed the directive.
Ayotunde Richards was the target of 12 accusations in a Federal High Court in Lagos that bordered on cyberbullying and libel, according to documents that our source recently received.
N. W. Uhumwangho, Esq., the prosecuting attorney and senior legal officer at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (CIID) in Yaba, Lagos, filed the charges on March 11, 2024.
The country’s bank compliance officers have received a call from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) asking them to stop disclosing to their clients about the EFCC’s investigative operations.
This statement was made by the commission’s executive chairman, Ola Olukoyede, in a meeting with bank compliance officers in the capital of Oyo State, Ibadan.
Olukoyede stated that the commission is aware that certain compliance officers are providing information to customers. He made this statement through ACE I Hauwa Garba Ringim, Acting Zonal Director of the EFCC’s Ibadan Zonal Command.
He bemoaned the unhealthy backing that Nigerian banks give scammers.
The head of the commission emphasized that the commission is facing many difficulties and worries as a result of this act.
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He claims that the EFCC is aware that compliance officers inform their clients about “letters of investigation activities” that the EFCC has sent to banks.
He maintained that these kinds of actions typically compromise financial crime investigations and postpone the filing of court proceedings pertaining to corruption.
He bemoaned the unhealthy backing that Nigerian banks give to fraudsters, emphasizing that the Commission is facing significant difficulties and worries as a result.
In order to speed the investigation process and bring the case to a logical conclusion, the head of the EFCC further advised the agency to always reply to letters received from the Commission with certified true copies, including instruments of transactions of beneficiaries or sources.
Speaking further, Olukoyede insisted that illicit transactions and naira-denominated trading with Point-of-sale (POS) operators had to end.
“What we notice and see around lately is that Nigerians can only withdraw a small amount of their money with the banks in Automated Teller Machine (ATMs) but POS operators evidently go around with huge amounts of money gotten from the banks.
“This is not fair to Nigerians and we must fight it head-on.”
The National Assembly and the Federal Government have been asked to immediately control in the abuses of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) in Kaduna by the Pharmaceutical Society of Nigeria (PSN), Kaduna State branch.
Speaking to reporters in Kaduna on Friday, Pharm. Sunday Ali Okoh, the Chairman of PSN Kaduna State branch, bemoaned the abuses of the NDLEA and urged the National Assembly and the presidency to step in.
In Okoh’s opinion, the Agency occasionally impeded and hindered their roles in an unnecessarily illegal and unprofessional manner.
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He clarified that while the group understood the agency’s responsibilities to apprehend and prosecute drug dealers, they did not intend to obstruct pharmacists from performing their legally mandated duties.
In his words, “All over the planet earth, the rights to medications (life) are fundamental.”
It is worthy of note that pharmacists are licensed to import, export, mix, compound, prepare, dispense, counsel, sell, procure and distribute drugs, (PCN Act 2022,).”
“Time without number, the NDLEA has unduly, illegally and unprofessionally obstructed and hindered these life saving roles only to feather their nests, exploit Nigerians, collect bribes and force their victims to give assent that bail is free after collecting millions of Naira,” he claimed. He claimed that agents of the law have turned into lawbreakers.
He explained, “Pharmacists are legal entities and many patients’ medication are stored with them; sealing up pharmacists is as good as denying the citizens their right to life.”
On Friday morning, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle landed in Nigeria to begin their 72-hour visit.
The couple took a British Airways aircraft and arrived at Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.
The Daily Mail claims that the flight, which arrived at around five in the morning, was delayed due to a sick pilot.
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Yesterday, the Duchess of Sussex took a plane to Heathrow to meet her husband at the airport’s private Windsor Suite.
Harry and Meghan are traveling to Nigeria together for the first time.
Other passengers were pulled over as they were led into a waiting van that had been completely darkened.
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