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Cleric to Danjuma: Make amends for your terrible sins now you’re still alive
“God has no respect for persons. He is the Lord of all. He has the liberty to speak to anybody at any time and in the manner He wants. He is the one who will bring everyone to judgment. Should He speak to you in your lifetime on earth or after your lifetime, when there would be no chance anymore to show you mercy? Judge it yourself.”
These were the admonitions of Paul Rika, International Director of the Holiness Revival Movement Worldwide, a religious institution based in Taraba State, with which he responded Theophilus Danjuma, former Minister of Defence in a defamation suit in which the army General is asking for N1 billion damages over an offensive publication against him.
The same admonition was offered by the late Ikemba Nnewi, Emeka Odumegwu Ojukwu, who urged the retired army boss, to engage in penance for his sins, for his role in the coup that led to the killing of Thompson Umunnakwe Aguiyi Ironsi, on September 29, 1966, during an altercation that pitted them against each other some years back.
In a defiant riposte against the lawsuit over the alleged defamation, the cleric pointed to portions of the Bible to caution the former Chief of Defence Staff, who is a Christian to refrain from going through the legal route over the issues he raised in his book, as they were divinely inspired messages, but rather accept them as God’s last warning to him in his lifetime.
Danjuma, represented by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Tayo Oyetibo, had in a letter of September 27, 2024, demanded a retraction from the cleric of the alleged defamatory statements in his book, God’s Message to Kuteb Tribe and Indigenes of Taraba State, claiming the content depicted him as “a wicked, mischievous, evil, and anti-democratic person” in addition to N1 billion in damages within seven days.
The cleric, in his reply through a letter obtained by reporters on Wednesday, admonished the retired General to heed what he described as a divine warning and to consider the message for spiritual reflection.
In furtherance of his admonition, he sent more books to the former Minister “to help him understand the context, explaining that God does not seek to massage egos but to convey truth,” adding: “God’s message may appear damaging but if we listen, they will change us into what he desires us to be before our death.”
He added: “I want you to know the certainty of the message the Lord has sent to you, the Kuteb people and the Indigenes of Taraba State. You know that God is your Creator as much as He is the Creator of other people. He loves you as much as He loves other people and will not want you to oppress them.
“As the Lord sent a message to King Ahab concerning the wickedness he did to Naboth and his family, so the Lord has sent you the message contained in the book on the evil you have done to the Kuteb tribe from your youth to this day, which you are planning to continue, even after your lifetime on earth, as revealed by God in the book.
“I have no doubt that this is true of you because the revelation came from God. Your argument against this truth has no meaning, because of your practical … deeds against the Kuteb tribe and against Taraba State at large, which are still ongoing.
“The revelation message in the book is true and many people bear witness to it, both in Taraba State and in the world around it. Please Sir, acknowledge your iniquity, both as God revealed it in that book and as men testify practically in your hearing. I want you to know your need for genuine repentance through saving faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, your Creator, Saviour and the great Judge over your life both now in your lifetime and after your death.
“This involves genuine confession of your sins to Him and confession, apologies, and restitution to the Kuteb tribe … Be informed that the Kuteb nation is crying to God against you for vengeance against you …
“You will need to do the same to Taraba State and all that you have offended as much as you can remember. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. I want to believe that your sins have not gone beyond the boundary of being forgiven by God because He is a great God of mercy. Even when men get angry because of what you have done over the years, God will still forgive you and grant you heaven, if you genuinely repent and walk in the newness of life. You need to humble yourself and forget your greatness, riches, honour and popularity among men,and accept Jesus to be your Lord and Saviour.”
Enclosing some other works Escaping Hellfire and Entering Heaven Made Simple” and The Doctrine of Christian Restitution for Your Holiness and Heaven, which he said Danjuma needed for his “spiritual edification,” the cleric, added: “If truly you are taking this matter to court, having taken a lawyer for it, then, it shall be you and Jesus, your advocates and the Angels that shall be involved in the court proceedings before the judge which I cannot tell now, while I and those with me may be witnesses. Hence, he that rejects the message of the Lord which He sends through His servant also rejects Jesus and the Father.
“It will be sin and rebellion against God to me, to retrieve from the society the Lord’s message meant to save humanity because a mortal man, who today is and tomorrow is not commands me to do so. We need money for evangelism and soul-winning and to prepare the church for Christ’s return. Is it sensible, therefore, that we should give man money because he said we have offended forgiving him God’s message?
“I am not by this writing stopping you from taking the matter to the court because every man is entitled to his opinion, but I am showing you the implication especially at this age when you should be seeking forgiveness, salvation and grace to escape hell and enter heaven.”
Fuel marketers across Abuja on Wednesday continued to sell Premium Motor Spirit (PMS), popularly known as petrol, at old prices more than 24 hours after Dangote Petroleum Refinery announced a reduction in its ex-depot price, Vanguard is reporting.
The paper reported that its investigation, showed that major retail outlets were yet to adjust their pump prices despite the N75 per litre reduction announced by the refinery on Monday.
At the retail stations visited in Abuja, the Nigerian National Petroleum Company (NNPC) Retail and TotalEnergies dispensed petrol at N1,335 per litre, while AA Rano sold at N1,350 per litre. AYM Shafa and Conoil outlets sold the product at N1,330 per litre.
The development comes amid growing public expectations that the reduction in Dangote Refinery’s gantry price would quickly translate into lower pump prices nationwide.
Explaining the delay, the President of the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN), Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry, said retail prices are influenced by several factors beyond refinery gate prices.
Speaking to Channels TV, Gillis-Harry said: “Prices reflecting at the pump are dependent on availability of the product, the other is the cost. The cost of purchasing the product and cost in terms of logistics, and preparing the particular petroleum to be delivered to the people”.
According to him, downward price adjustments often take longer to reach consumers because marketers need to recover the cost of existing stock purchased at higher prices before restocking at lower rates.
When asked why increases in fuel prices are usually reflected immediately while reductions are delayed, Gillis-Harry said the dynamics of supply management play a significant role.
He explained: “It is mainly affected by whether the producer has additional resources or not at the time. Increases in prices are mainly caused by the need to restock. There must be that advantage pushing the price upward to be able to pay for new supplies.”
He further acknowledged that marketers generally seek to exhaust existing inventory before implementing lower prices.
“That’s the basic idea. But in petroleum, a mixture is involved, and loss is taken, though not in a way that affects the capital needed to restock,” he added.
Also speaking on the issue, energy analyst Olabode Sowunmi said fuel pricing in Nigeria is influenced by a combination of domestic supply arrangements and logistics costs, rather than crude oil prices alone.
He noted that although international crude oil prices remain an important factor globally, their impact on local petrol pricing is not always direct.
“Global price of crude oil is a factor internationally and not necessarily in Nigeria,” Sowunmi said.
Explaining that Dangote Refinery operates under arrangements that allow a portion of crude supply to be priced in naira, reducing the direct impact of international market fluctuations on local fuel prices, he said: “So basically the issue will have to be from the point of refinery to where it touches the final person. Logistics costs within the domestic supply chain remain a major determinant of the final pump price paid by consumers.”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
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