GIVERS NEVER LACK? BUT IT IS EASIER TO COLLECT TITHE, BUILDING FUNDS, OFFERINGS, FIRST FRUIT, MAN OF gOD'S GIFT FROM THE BRAIN WASHED THAN TO GIVE TO CAESAR WHAT IS CAESAR'S.

I was expecting a brutal attack!
But whosai?
I only saw a guy throw a punch that missed the head of the target, sliding over his shoulder.

Ahh, where is Chidi Lloyd to teach them the right way to brutalize... ?

Zooms away from thread before the bad belles descend.

Adelaide2: Very crude folks
Now I know that Ogun is really the poorest state in Nigeria

Now i understand why they call you mumu

Diasporan:
Did you just insult me?I will take it as a joke from a beer parlor friend but never you try that again for i am not your mate age wise and anything.Be warned cause i don't belong to the set of people engaged in name calling in an online faceless forum.Again be warned.

Young man are you suffering from identity crises? Who is Diasporan and who is churchagbasa? I wonder how you know that you are not my mate age wise and in everything in a faceless forum. Please go and watch cartoon.

guy watch your mouth : author=demelza]Cursed by who? The slap-wielding Bishop?
@post
This is just one of the incidences that make people turn their backs on christianity. These churches are actually doing more harm than good.[/quote]

no be winners chapel...does security operatives @ the main entrance as well as some pastors should be checked,cause trust me when i tell you that they've got more daft folks in suit than the mad men yaba left can accommodate.

I didn't see any sign board indicating it was the premises of Winners Chapel. Besides that what are tax officials doing in a church. Does the church pay tax. I am open to correction.

wellmax: AHHHh.
From what I can see, the TAX guys were obviously trying to create a scene. But that church guy in suit...hmmm, is he a christian at all? He took things too far. No matter the provocation, you need to be gentle with TAX collectors.

The tax guys have to be angry. You do not pay your taxes, why should they be happy with you. Rather than you pleading and making arrangements with the tax collectors, the church guys did what they know best - Holy Karate.

At about 8:15pm on 8 September,
Bishop David Oyedepo, founder of
Living Faith Church Worldwide,
alias Winners’ Chapel, was in
Abeokuta to meet with Governor
Ibikunle Amosun of Ogun State.
The meeting was facilitated by
former president Olusegun
Obasanjo, whom Oyedepo
contacted to reach out to Amosun.
The governor was said to be
seething over the latest
controversy involving Oyedepo and
his church.
Two days earlier, some members
of the church assaulted a team of
officials of the Ogun State Ministry
Of Urban and Physical Planning,
who had gone to the church’s
headquarters in Ota to serve
building inspection notices, as
well as two journalists attached to
Ogun State Television.
Peter Falomo, a reporter, and
Lekan Egunjobi, a cameraman,
were the worst hit. A statement
issued by Yusuph Olaniyonu, Ogun
State Commisioner for Information
and Strategy, said the journalists
were savagely beaten, their
camera seized, the recording
deleted and the camera damaged
before it was released. Olaniyonu
alleged that Oyedepo was present,
watching the assault as though it
was a spectator sport. “The
assault was witnessed by the
Head Pastor of the Church, Bishop
David Oyedepo, who equally was
visibly angry at the decision of the
officials to attempt to carry out
their statutory duties in his church
premises,” said Olaniyonu. The
commissioner added that Oyedepo
repeatedly spewed insults at the
officials and asked why they
imagined they had the licence to
regulate building of structures for
commercial purposes in his
church premises.
Aside from the journalists, two
officials of the ministry were also
wounded by church members,
who denied the team access to
the church premises. The victims
were taken to the General Hospital
in Ota, where they were treated
and subsequently discharged. The
church authorities are said to have
severally ignored invitations to
meetings of the Stakeholders
Forum, set up by the government,
for organisations in the state to
discuss with the government
issues like physical planning and
taxation regulations.
General Manager, Ogun State
Urban and Physical Planning
Board, Mr. Stephen Adewolu, who
led the team of officials, accused
the church authorities of acting as
though they were above the law.
“No organisation can carry on as
if it is above the law. We have
information that the people in that
church are just building structures
indiscriminately without building
approval, without necessary
environmental impact assessment
reports and they are violating
planning laws and regulations,”
Adewolu said.
It was the second assault on
government officials by Oyedepo’s
followers in as many days. A day
before, officials of the Ogun State
Internal Revenue Service, OGIRS,
who visited the church premises
to effect the payment of
outstanding taxes were similarly
attacked. According to officials of
the agency, the outstanding taxes,
which cover a seven-year period,
are owed by Kingdom Heritage
Nursery School, owned by
Oyedepo’s church and located
within its headquarters. The tax
owed is put at less than N2
million. “What they owe is below
two million naira. It is from 2003
to 2010. We have sent several
notices to them. The first one was
in 2010, followed by that of 2011
and the last was in May 2013. Our
men were explaining to them when
some personnel, including their
legal officer and accountant, came
out and in the course of
discussion, our men were beaten
blue black and our equipment
were destroyed,” explained OGIRS
Chairman, Mr. Jide Odubanjo.
At a press conference a day after
the assault, the state government
showed a video of the attack on
OGIRS officials and subsequent
detention of journalists for three
hours by staff of the school. The
video was recorded on the sly by
a government official with a
mobile phone and later
downloaded on DVD. The detained
staff were released following the
intervention of the Divisional
Police Officer of Onipanu in Ota
Division. Odubanjo said the
service is legally empowered to
access and inspect financial
records in the premises of any
business located within the state.
He explained that the recent
inspection was part of the
government’s drive to ensure
compliance with tax laws and
enforcement efforts. Odubanjo
added that the visit to the
church’s headquarters became
necessary in view of the fact that
the authorities of the church had
ignored reminders to pay up.
Muyiwa Adejobi, Public Relations
Officer of the Ogun State Police
Command, said the matter will be
investigated. Ogun State Attorney-
General and Commissioner for
Justice, Mrs. Abimbola Akeredolu,
said her ministry is studying the
facts on the two incidents with a
view to fashioning an appropriate
legal response.
Before the meeting with Oyedepo,
Amosun was said to have met with
some key officials of his
government, including heads of
law enforcement agencies, and
taken a decision to seal off the
premises of the church last
Monday. The decision was,
however, leaked to the church, a
development that pushed Oyedepo
to seek Obasanjo’s assistance in
getting through to the governor.
At the meeting with Oyedepo, said
sources, Amosun did not conceal
his disgust at the conduct of
Oyedepo’s followers. A source at
the meeting said Oyedepo pleaded
for leniency, but the governor said
the church must pick the hospital
bills of the victims and replace all
the damaged equipment. The
governor was also said to have
insisted that law must take its
course in the matter.
Sources told TheNEWS that five of
those involved in the attack on
government officials have been
arrested by the police and may be
slammed with charges based on
their statements to the police.
“Without prejudice to the facts on
ground and with the video
evidence we have just watched,
they may likely be charged for
false imprisonment and assault,”
said Akeredolu, Commissioner for
Justice.
When TheNEWS visited the
church’s headquarters, a pastor
that refused to give his name
confirmed that Oyedepo met with
the governor. He explained that
the preacher agreed to pick the
medical bills of the victims and
pay for the damaged equipment.
He also said church officials
involved in the violence will be
sanctioned on release from police
detention. The pastor, however,
denied the government’s claim
that Oyedepo was present when
government officials were being
molested and branded the authors
of such claim as mischievous.
But a regional pastor, who prefers
to be anonymous, told this
medium that church officials that
attacked OGIRS officials did so
based on the conviction that the
church has been sensitive to the
needs of its host community and
is thus entitled to a tax-exempt
status. He said this was conveyed
to OGIRS officials who, rightly,
were unimpressed.
Just like the Ogun State
government, the British authorities
have also developed an interest in
Oyedepo, whose church in Britain
has received an estimated £16
million in tithes from followers
between 2008 and 2013. Of this
sum, according to a recent report
in The Guardian of London, over
£1 million has been funnelled into
the church’s operation in Nigeria,
the reason for which the Charity
Commission of England and Wales
is scrutinising the church’s
finances. The commission is a
non-ministerial department that
functions as the regulator and
registrar of charities in England
and Wales. Last month, The
Guardian reported that the Charity
Commission was investigating
allegations that charitable funds
that accrued to Oyedepo’s church
have been misapplied.

Please o, do churches and mosques pay tithes? Weren't the tax collectors aware of this. I don't justify the bashing but what is wrong is wrong!

Re: Attack On Ogun Tax Officials By Winners Chapel Workers (Video) by Virgin Finder: 3:51pm

You want to get cursed?



by who?

I was thinking i would find youth engaging in fight, but my surprise is the man that attacked tax official would be in his 50s, imagine that in the church sitting in front row and shouting Amen Amen. Taking law in yourself is absolutely wrong, but anything goes in Nigeria.

Churches now breed thugs like political parties. This is a sign of.........let me zip my mouth before dem ban me oh!

Virgin Finder: You want to get cursed?

Oh shut up! If u don't av anytn reasonable 2 say....

dealslip: I didn't see any sign board indicating it was the premises of Winners Chapel. Besides that what are tax officials doing in a church. Does the church pay tax. I am open to correction.

They should!......dey make 2much money dia....use it 4 vanities

iphy42: Please o, do churches and mosques pay tithes? Weren't the tax collectors aware of this. I don't justify the bashing but what is wrong is wrong!

Your question should be; Should a revenue generating business owned by the church or mosque pay tax (am not talking abt tithes and offering)?
The answer is YES.

2HASUM: GIVERS NEVER LACK? BUT IT IS EASIER TO COLLECT TITHE, BUILDING FUNDS, OFFERINGS, FIRST FRUIT, MAN OF gOD'S GIFT FROM THE BRAIN WASHED THAN TO GIVE TO CAESAR WHAT IS CAESAR'S.

Brother.....ask dem o

If you look at why is some people think kwara and kogi state are part of the North , is this issue. kwara and kogi are part of western nigeria.

At that time,, there were no muslim in any part of the other 10 states of western nigeria apart from kwara and kogi, so the emir of ilorin broke away, which was not possible to avoid paying taxes . but to avoid religion conflict they just ignore him. this is what happen.

Churches and mosque had waivers. pre union with the north and east

Kwara and kogi state are part of the western nigeria.


95% of the people living in ilorin are Yoruba people.

viktuur: Nothing new under d earth, Peter was always carrying a sword, even cut off someone's ear to protect Jesus, what is important is how d church leadership handles this issue. They should ensure it doesn't happen again .

@ viktuur .do u read ur own bible up side down? What did jesus say to peter?in case u have forgotten Let me juggle ur brain "sheath d sword cos they that Live by d sword die by d sword"in order word I am capable of taking care of my self said jesus. Pls don,t fight for jesus he is way capable of taking care of himself. thank u

If Oyedepo has businesses in his name, then he has to pay taxes.

who is the grown ass guy in suit jumping on the back of the tax collector to land him some blows? someone must know and identify that dude. he needs to be disciplined or sacked or something. i wont be shocked if that is a rev/deacon or pastor sef

This is not about taking sides but how does the pastor directly come into the fight that happened in his absence? I'm sure he didn't instruct the man in suit to fight...... Even amongst the disciples, there was an evil Judas who had a mind of his own. Please blame the culprit and not the pastor. This is just like blaming Lastma for the way those yellow bus drivers drive.
I believe its how the pastor handles the case that matters.

Thugs symptomatic of a money grabbing organization

The kingdom of God ( Winners Chaple) suffereth violence by Ogun state armed robbers called tax officials and ONLY THE VIOLENT can handle it by force.

Nairaland leave Oyedepo alone. What a nasty description ( Oyedepo Thugs). How I wish I was there I woult have crushed them with my hands.

eGuerrilla:

Read full account

The issue should be andle officially not d tax officer do act as area boys u shld still look at way security men acts in nig lfc is not only place inogun state they can try lock they shld try obasanjo farm too & schs

U UST BE A VERY BIG NAIVE, SELF RIGHTOEUS, BRAIN-WASHED, FOOLISH HYPOCRITE

Virgin Finder: You want to get cursed?

viktuur: Nothing new under d earth, Peter was always carrying a sword, even cut off someone's ear to protect Jesus, what is important is how d church leadership handles this issue. They should ensure it doesn't happen again .

As much as I don't really wanna comment I had no choice that to do so Apostle Peter never carry any sword he only drew d sword from one of d people that came harmed to arrest Jesus pls read d bible well

Most of these pentecostal churches are all about profit orientation...a case where a church hides under the umbrella of religious organization to operate hospitals, schools(where the congregation can not afford their tuition fees, where only those they pretend to preach against could afford to patronize them), and various allied companies, such demands the presence of tax officials, they should stop kidding themselfs, and pls PAY THEIR TAX..SHIKINA.

wellmax: AHHHh.
From what I can see, the TAX guys were obviously trying to create a scene. But that church guy in suit...hmmm, is he a christian at all? He took things too far. No matter the provocation, you need to be gentle with TAX collectors.

Exactly. if you watch the video well, it's the TAX collector that first of all elbow the Winners Worker and he was unable to control his anger.

It's not a sin to get angry but bible tells us not to sin even if you are angry. The Winners worker is not wise at all.