The
highly revered Nigerian pastor, Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, may soon lose
his prayer city as new travails breezes over the church.
Pastor Daniel Kolawole Olukoya
Pastor Daniel Kolawole Olukoya, the Founder and General Overseer of
Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM), may be on the verge of
losing the vast land on which MFM Prayer City sits.
According to SaharaReporters, a court ruling delivered on 12 May by
Justice A.A Akinyemi of the Abeokuta Division of the High Court of Ogun
State stated that the Adejonlu family are the bona fide owners of the
land on which the famous crusade and camp ground sits in the Ogun State
section along the Lagos/Ibadan Expressway.
This implies that Mr. Olukoya's church had bought the land from,
and paid, the wrong people. Ownership dispute over the the land began in
2003 and took the form of litigation via two different cases (Suit Nos.
AB/60/2003 and AB/61/2003) between the Adejonlu and Oduleye families.
Justice Akinyemi's ruling, exclusively obtained by SaharaReporters,
declared the Adejonlu family genuine owners of the land situated in
Magada, Obafemi/Owode Local Government Area, and that they are entitled
to the right of occupancy over the land.
Following the ruling handing ownership and right of occupancy to
the Adejonlu family, their lawyer, Mr. R. O. Sadik, told SaharaReporters
that he wrote many letters to Mr. Olukoya for negotiation and
settlement. Mr. Sadik said he took the steps because of the profile of
the pastor and his church.
One of the letters was dated 7 July and signed by one Miss Lateefa
Sadik for Mr. Sadik's chambers. The letter recalled a meeting held
between the legal firm and MFM representatives led by one Pastor Alewi.
The letter then proceeded with demands by the land owners. Notably,
the landowners requested the church, assisted by their lawyers, to
determine the size and portion of their land on which MFM Prayer City
sits. The letter also demanded a payment of N5million per plot to cover
the acreage that would be agreed on by the land owners and the church.
Similarly, the letter demanded the immediate payment of 40 per cent of
the total cost of the acreage agreed upon.
But these demands, Mr. Sadik told SaharaReporters, have been met
with indifference. According to him, Mr. Olukoya is unwilling to
negotiate with the landowners. He, however, warned that the owners are
keen on enforcing the court ruling and taking full possession of the
land.
"We have written to Dr. Olukoya over 10 times, and it is like
he is not ready for settlement. He set up a committee, which was headed
by Pastor Alewi, to look into the matter and our follow-up investigation
shows that the report of the committee has got to Dr. Olukoya. But we
have not heard any positive comment from him. In fact, his body language
does not suggest he is ready to pay any money for the land belonging to
my client," Mr. Sadik said.
He explained that he met with representatives of the church on 8 October, but Mr. Olukoya was not at the meeting.
"Presently, we are the practical owners of the land, according
to the judgment delivered by the Court, but the pastor is unlawfully and
illegally using it and selling part of it thereby making money off us
while we are not getting anything," alleged Mr. Sadik.
Another party to the matter, Chief Gbolahan Timson (Oba Jagunmolu
of Shomolu/Bariga), said he was disappointed by Mr. Olukoya's conduct
all through the time of litigation. He also claimed that Mr. Olukoya
went back on his promise and his failure to act is affecting the family
members.
"The Oduleye family were so greedy, and they were bent on
taking over our land. For this reason, they went ahead sue us. We were
served the court letter right in the office of Dr. Olukoya, and he said
good luck to the winner and that he would settle whoever won the case.
He made that statement when the case started 13 years ago. Now that we
have won, he decided not to pay us. We explained to him that he paid the
wrong party and he should pay our family who are the real owners of the
land but he has refused," he said.
He added that Mr. Olukoya is saddened that he may have to pay more
for the land. According to Chief Timson, the landowners gave a figure to
the church. After receipt of the sum demanded, the General Overseer is
not happy with us winning as he is going set up a committee to look into
the case, but the committee came up with a much lower sum.
"From the information I got, he wanted to pay the money twice.
But now, he is saying he is not paying us any money. I want to get
people to talk to him so as to avoid unnecessary rancor like what is
happening now. We cannot fight a battle for 13 years and still be
begging for our right after winning. The court has declared us winner
and the order of the court must be obeyed no matter who you are and what
you do for a living," he said.
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