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Tension has increased along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway over a disputed 3.5-acre piece of land claimed by both the General Overseer of Faith and Miracle International Church (FMIC), Pastor Genga Faith David, and the founder of One Love Family, Satguru Maharaj Ji.
The dispute has led to the arrest of five people by the Oyo State Police Command.
The land, reportedly worth millions of naira, is located along the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. Maharaj Ji claims it is part of his spiritual community, which he calls the Holy Land.
Speaking with journalists at a press conference in Ibadan, David accused members of the One Love Family of attacking some of his church members after a crusade was held on the disputed land.
He said the crusade, tagged “Possessing the Gate,” was organised to establish the church’s presence on the property, which he said was legally acquired by the church.
David said the church had a Deed of Conveyance and Certificate of Occupancy to prove ownership of the land.
According to him, some church members were attacked after the crusade and were later taken to different hospitals in Ibadan for treatment.
He said the church had refused to take the law into its own hands and instead staged a peaceful protest at the Oyo State Police Command headquarters in Eleyele, Ibadan.
David also dismissed Maharaj Ji’s claim that the crusade was part of a plot to kill him.
“Maharaj Ji even alleged that we plotted to kill him and labelled our crusade as Operation Wetie. I don’t know anything about Operation Wetie. I was not even born then. How can a mortal being threaten to kill a self-acclaimed God on earth?” he asked.
David appealed to Maharaj Ji, whom he described as an elderly man, to allow peace to prevail. He said the presence of the church in the area should not be seen as a threat to the One Love Family.
He also called on security agencies to intervene quickly to prevent the dispute from developing into a religious crisis in Oyo State.
However, Maharaj Ji rejected the church’s account of the incident.
He accused the church members of trespassing on the Holy Land and described them as illegal occupants.
In a statement, Maharaj Ji said five of his security personnel were arrested after they tried to stop the church members from entering the spiritual community.
He said the church members entered the Maharaj Ji community through an area he described as part of the Holy Land instead of using the entrance to their own premises.
Maharaj Ji said he was not at the scene when the incident happened but received reports from his security personnel about a confrontation with the church members.
According to him, the church members said they wanted to cut down trees in the area.
The security personnel questioned their presence and directed them to use their own access route.
He alleged that the church members refused to leave, leading to a confrontation with the security personnel.
Maharaj Ji said his men tried to raise the alarm and settle the matter peacefully before the police arrived and arrested five of them.
He identified the arrested persons as Ogochukwu Ogonna, Chijoke Orji, Osike Itabalume, Ugonna Chukwu and Elue Mazi.
He said the men were first taken to the Tollgate Police Station before the case was transferred to the Eleyele Police Command.
“These are people doing security service here, and so we ask for their release,” he said, appealing to the authorities to intervene.
Maharaj Ji maintained that the disputed land was part of his spiritual community and that visitors and outsiders were expected to follow its access rules.
He also accused the church of using the police to intimidate members of his community, claiming that similar tactics had been used in previous land disputes.
Maharaj Ji urged the police and other relevant authorities to investigate the arrests and ensure that the matter was resolved according to the law.
He also appealed to Pastor David to pursue peaceful and lawful means of resolving the dispute, warning that further escalation could lead to loss of lives.
English (US) ·