An Anglican bishop of Zaria diocese has been charged and arraigned before a chief magistrate’s court in Kaduna state over “defamatory remarks” he made against the Governor Nasir El-Rufai.
The Bishop identified as Abiodun Ogunyemi, who was arraigned on charges bordering on criminal defamation, injurious falsehood, and criminal intimidation had criticized the governor over the planned demolition of 110-year-old St George Cathedral in Zaria.
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Ogunyemi, in a statement released in November 2019, said that El-Rufai will never be president even though he is being groomed to take over from President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
Upon appearing before the court, the Bishop pleaded not guilty and was granted bail. A member of the Kaduna Synod and a canon of the cathedral church of St Michael Kaduna stood in as surety.
The director of public prosecutions hinted that a peaceful resolution of the case is ongoing and the defense counsel also agreed to this. The case was subsequently adjourned to October 28, 2020, for further decisions.
Anaedoonline reported last week about how world Bishops have kicked against the application of the Company and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) to churches by the Federal Government of Nigeria led by President Muhammadu Buhari.
Anaedoonline.ng reports that the Supreme Primate of the World Council of Bishops, His Eminence, Archbishop Dr Polycarp Sunday, made the position of the World Bishops known in a statement on Tuesday.
The World Bishops emphatically described CAMA laws on churches, religious bodies by President Buhari’s administration as illegality, pointing out unequivocally and unashamedly that “the Church as a Bride of Christ is first Spiritual in ALL and will never and must not be subjected to carnality, but God’s Holy Word, the Bible as her basic principle and constitution, thus, anything or policies, be it government, organizational or individual, that is inconsistent with God’s Holy Word is unconstitutional and illegal.
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“As the Church of Jesus Christ draws her ALL from the Bible, not laws made by man or humans.”
According to the Bishops, Nigeria as a nation under democracy is safeguarded by constitutional provisions, “where the inalienable rights of its citizens to freedom of worship, associations, and the like are not respected, nor protected, such nation is headed for the rocks, consequent upon the draconian laws vehemently posed on her citizen’s religious faith and religious places of worship, without proper constitutional guidance, nor a recourse to a referendum before actual passage, application and implementation of such laws.
“To this effect, We as the Church of Jesus Christ Nationwide demand a repeal on the application of CAMA laws, and resist such laws against the Church and religious bodies in Nigeria in totality without fear or favour.”
Meanwhile, the position of the World Bishops is coming after President Buhari signed CAMA into law on August 7, a situation which did not sit well with founder and General Overseer of the Living Faith Church, also known as Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo.
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Bishop Oyedepo had earlier warned President Buhari’s government against the application of CAMA in churches, adding that the church is directly connected to God and does not operate under the rules of men.
Like Oyedepo, the leader of INRI Evangelical spiritual church, Primate Elijah Ayodele had kicked against the inclusion of religious centres under CAMA law, explaining that the government is trying to meddle into spiritual affairs which, according to him, is totally unacceptable.
Primate Ayodele described the act as a means of fighting the church by the government.
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