The Celestial Church of Christ, Acts of Apostle Parish, Ketu, Alapere, Lagos, has been shut down for 40 days by the authorities of the church following a crisis arising from the donation of N5m to the parish.
There was a breakdown of order on Sunday last week when an acclaimed son of the church founder, Muyiwa Oluponna, allegedly stormed the church and disrupted service in a bid to install himself as the shepherd of the church.
Oluponna reportedly interrupted the acting shepherd of the church, Adetayo Adetola, during the sermon and collected the microphone, saying that he had the right to deliver sermons every second Sunday of the month.
The development escalated into chaos with polarized members arguing with one another.
A video of the incident showed Oluponna and some church members exchanging hot words.
The church authority set up a task force, led by Akinbode Adjovi, to investigate the crisis. The committee shut down the church for 40 days.
In an interview with The Saturday Punch, Adetola alleged that Oluponna demanded that the N5m donated by the church authority to the parish for the renovation and construction of a clergy house be given to his family.
“That Sunday, our shepherd was not around and I was put in charge of the church. I was also assigned to give the sermon. We started the service and everything was going well until he (Oluponna) snatched the microphone from me, demanding to speak.
“I respected him and gave him the microphone because I knew him as a family member of the church founder. Immediately he collected the microphone, he said the N5m given to the church by the headquarters for renovation does not belong to the church but to the family of Oluponna who founded the church.
“He also demanded that money be given to the family, insisting that the church belongs to the family and not the community or the CCC authorities.
“He also demanded that he be made the church shepherd and be allowed to give sermons every second Sunday of the month. We all kept quiet until he finished
“After that, I took over to deliver the sermon, but to everybody’s surprise, he came back and snatched another microphone from one of the choristers and came to the pulpit to give the sermon. That was when we all resisted him”, Adetola said.
Also speaking, the Shepherd of the church, Emmanuel Iperepolu, alleged that Oluponna had been causing trouble in the church, threatening him and other church members whom he perceived were against him.
Iperepolu said the incident had been reported to the church authorities and the police.
“I think the donation prompted him to do what he did, but before the issue of the money came, he had been coming to the church to threaten and abuse me and others. However, immediately after he heard about the donation, he came and demanded that the money be handed over to the family.
“He said the church belongs to the family of Oluponna, hence the money belongs to the family and not the church. The church authority has taken over the issue, and they have invited me and representatives of the family for questioning,” Iperepolu said.
Meanwhile, the Head of Media and Publicity of CCC, Kayode Ajala, said the church was shut down to prevent further breakdown of law and order.
“The church is a house of God but when things are going wrong and people’s lives are being threatened we have to do something.
“The church authorities cannot fold their arms and allow people to get killed; we have to intervene and this is why we shut down the church temporarily, while investigation is going on.
“All those involved in the conflict are being talked to and resolution is going on and once all that is done, the church will be reopened,” Ajala said.
When punch asked about whether the church crisis was caused by the N5m donation, Oluponna declined to comment, saying the issue was between the family and the church.
