Published 4th Nov, 2022

By Sade Owoyemi

Independent journalist Sade Owoyemi worshipped at the international headquarters of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Ketu, Lagos, on October 30, the first Sunday after FIJ’s undercover investigation on the church’s hordes of fake prophets. She sent this report to FIJ on Tuesday.

It was the first Sunday after FIJ published the first of its seven-part #ProphetsOfTheirPockets series. The first part exposed a list of false prophecies given at the international headquarters of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC), Ikosi-Ketu, Lagos.

The prophets had not stopped at the false prophecies, but they had also moved on to extortion, asking for the feeding of 100 prophets without knowing that the ‘servant’ was indeed an investigative journalist and the Founder/Editor-in-Chief of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ).

I arrived at the premises of CCC’s international headquarters some 15 minutes before 10 am — the start of service.

I joined the throng of early worshippers who wore the flowing white garments as we were ushered into the premises by a dark-complexioned man who wore an outfit identifying him as security.

As I approached the entrance with some other worshippers on my heels, he looked as though he would stop me or search my bag; but one further look at him made me realise I was free to go in.

I walked into the premises and was quick to mix with the sea of bodies in white clothes.

The stairway perched on the right side of the blue and white building. It led into a long walkway that opened into the auditoriums. The children auditorium sat on the ground floor while the main auditorium and gallery sat above it.

With my sutana in my right hand and my bag on the left, I followed the stairs until I came into a queue of people lined up to enter the auditorium.

I joined the female queue, which was to the left, while the men lined up on the right. The elders from both sides stood ahead of both groups.

Here, men and women must not be in close physical contact anywhere within the church premises.

At five minutes to 10am, a bell being rung from inside the auditorium called people to attention, and everyone stood straight.

A pianist from inside the auditorium struck his chords and then played a tune of ‘Jerih mo yah mah’, the processional hymn.

In a slow forward movement, the worshippers stepped into the auditorium. Hands poised in a prayer mood and lips responding to the tune, they dipped two fingers into a combination of incense and water placed just by the door, touch it to their forehead and stepped inside.

This continued until the last of the worshippers, that is the elders, were in. From my vantage position on the gallery, I observed them as they made their slow procession into the auditorium.

Soon the service commenced, and a string of head bows, chants, hymns, muffled prayers and obvious prayers followed. This was interrupted by the Bible lessons and occasional sittings.

The congregation seemed to be more comfortable worshipping on their knees than their feet. The announcements by the church secretary, a tall, dark middle-aged man followed. Some were about the babies born into the church the previous week; others were about the church’s tenets, which he read out emphatically. He noted that they served as a notice to new members and a warning to the existing ones. His announcement, read in Yoruba, was interpreted in English.

“If you must be a Celestian, you must not visit herbalists or native doctors for any reason,” his voice rang.

“As a Celestian, you must not fornicate or commit adultery.

“As a Celestian, you must not drink alcohol for any reason.”

“As a Celestian, you must not use coloured candles; only the white ones.”

The instructions continued and I couldn’t help but wonder why the church’s actions were deviant from its rules.

If the people who sat around me in the gallery are testament to anything, they confirmed the belief that the instruction of abstaining from premarital sex was not taken seriously by the youth.

However, I would soon understand why congregants seemed to deviate from the church’s tenets, because as the announcement was being read, other activities sprouted in the church. Associations and groups sought their members, demanding dues from them. It became a mini beehive activity surrounded by a larger one — the booming voice of the church secretary echoed through the speakers.

A twist of the biblical principle of humility played out. The preacher, Sunday Peter, who had been earlier introduced as a Superior Leader, rejected his introduction when he mounted the podium. “The church secretary made a mistake when he introduced me,” he said. “I am not Superior Leader but Superior Senior Wo-leader!”

Just like the church secretary, he emphasised that members of the church had deviated from the church’s tenets, made obvious by FIJ’s story and the decadence that had eaten deep into the fold.

“Every Celestial member must return to the tenets of the church as laid down by the founder. If you hold any office and then mislead people through this office, your punishment will be greater than other people’s,” he said.

“If you don’t want to read the constitution of the church because you think it is written by people different from the founder, get tapes of the founder and listen to them. You need to do this so you’d stop shaming the church contemptuously.”

Tosho Oshoffa, the parishioner of the International headquarters of the Celestial Church of Christ who was absent for most of the service, arrived to coordinate the ‘sacrifice of thanksgiving’.

Tosho was spotting his priestly cream-coloured garment with white underclothes and a gold sash around him. He was flanked by elders who wore multi-coloured robes and gold sashes around them.

Just as the thanksgiving began, people came forth bearing gifts of food, fruits, candles, packs of bottle water, brooms, palm fronds, musical instruments and picture frames of Jesus.

Referring to FIJ’s publication, he said: “When the world wanted our backs on the ground, you exalted us. When the enemies couldn’t find anything to use against us, you were there for us.”

He accused FIJ of planning to cause an upheaval in the church with its investigation.

“The enemy wanted to know why we are so happy in Ketu, so they tried to gather and scatter us, but while they were gathering you lord were scattering their plans,” he continued.

“They sat in contempt but you excelled above them. They wrote malicious contents against the church, but you didn’t allow it to scatter us.

“They said hurtful things about us, but you prevailed Lord. Thanks to the God of Oshoffa because this was the month they purposed that Ketu branch would be in disarray but as they were planning you were confusing their camp.

“They were arguing whether I am a pastor or not. I only sat somewhere reading every of their post. If they need to see the pastor, they should meet Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa, the spiritual Head of the church worldwide.

“Anyone who tries to fight me is warring against Pastor. If they war against Ketu, they are warring against Pastor Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa.”

After the prayers, he said, “e dey sweet me, e dey pain dem“, which was immediately chorused by the church to show that their defeat over whatever plans the enemy had in store had been defeated.

By the time the service ended at 2:12 pm, I realised that most of the spiritual exercise that had gone on during the service, especially when my seat partner was repeatedly saying, “Eh, Jesu. Ja Elijah. Kristi. Eh Maleka,” while staggering to the left and right was all a charade.

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