The Senior Pastor of the Covenant Christian Centre, Poju Oyemade, has said that he was heartbroken after watching the video where Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA) was accused of rape.
In a message on Monday via Instagram moments before the embattled Fatoyinbo stepped down, Poju said he was addressing the matter based on requests by many about his position on the issue.
Busola Dakolo, wife of the singer and songwriter, Timi Dakolo, had in a video published on Friday accused Fatoyinbo of raping her about 20 years ago.
Poju said he could only watch the tape for a few minutes as ‘it was difficult to sit through it.’
He said: “I immediately contacted the spiritual leader in the Body of Christ I believe Pastor Biodun defers in authority to, to wade into the issue and bring about a decision.
“He informed me his position. It was that Pst Biodun should first step down from the pulpit indefinitely, suspend 7days of glory and make a public statement. These he made known to him directly in an hour.”
He said they had three objectives in mind – justice, healing and redemption.
“It is apparent that the manner in which our Pentecostal Churches were/are born with an individual receiving a call directly from God and we all operating largely as independent bodies, our governing structures are not as strong as in the orthodox church settings with the exemption of Pentecostal denominations where you are appointed a pastor and can be easily sanctioned.
“This however makes it imperative that we go an extra mile to show a high level of compassion and sense of responsibility for people placed under our care or else what has brought our great growth may be what will destroy us,” Poju said.
He also apologised to all who have been abused and exposed in Pentecostal structures, saying “we will seek to build stronger structures through peer reviews and in our relationships.”
