We don’t tell God what to do. He does what He wants to, and
what pleases Him at the right time. Some prophets from The Chosen Church in Imo
State have embarrassed themselves after claiming they could raise a man who died
a month ago in Burkina Faso, and was brought to his home town, Imo State for
burial. The prophets told the community leaders that they want permission to
exhume his corpse so that the miracle could happen. The elders warned them and
even said they shouldn’t worry to raise him. They refused and insisted it was
not the right time for him to have died.
His aunt, a member of The Chosen
Church also joined in begging the elders and insisted they should let
them
perform the miracle. The elders accepted on one condition that the
police will
be involved, and if they fail to raise him, they will be arrested
because it is
a taboo in their land. The D-day came,
and hour after hour, nothing happened till 6pm of that day, after they
said the
man will rise at exactly 12 noon. My people, when the police men
couldn't bear it any more, they had to arrest them and took them to
their station, and the people of Imo are patiently waiting for the
outcome. Continue after the cut...
Here is how Victoria Ohaeri narrated it on her blog;
A young man, from Umuezii community died in Burkina Faso in
November last year under mysterious circumstances. A month after, his sealed body was brought
back to Nigeria and was buried the same day in his family compound in Umuezii,
Nguru Mbaise, Imo State.
Trouble started when prophets and seers of the Chosen Church
of God prophesied that the dead-and-buried young man was still alive (six feet
beneath the earth) as his soul has persistently approached them via telephone
calls and other spiritual means, requesting immediate exhumation. His elder
sister, who is a member of the Chosen Church, communicated this prophecy to the
entire family, leading to a family resolution insisting on the “divinely
ordered” exhumation.
The decision to exhume the dead body did not go down well
with the community as such act was considered an abomination both under the
native tradition and under the prevailing Catholic norms deeply established
within the community. All entreaties to the family made by the traditional
ruler and parish priest of the St. Luke Catholic Church, Umuezii to refrain
from such religious charade fell on deaf ears. It got to a point that the
deceased family representatives openly accused the church and community leaders
of killing their late brother, and preventing his “god-ordained” resurrection.
As a lasting solution to the impasse, the traditional ruler
of the community invited the Chosen Church seers and prophets to sign an
agreement of performance failing which they will be handed over to the police
authorities for prosecution. The second
condition was that the miracle will be performed in full public glare and in
the presence of other independent witnesses. Proudly beating their chests and
boasting deafeningly about their “majestic powers”, the seers and prophets
signed the agreement and a date was mutually agreed for the resurrection
miracle.
On the appointed day, a horde of prayer warriors,
choristers, singers, speaking-in-tongue experts, seers, prophets and the like
stormed the village as early as 6 a.m. The traditional ruler also invited the
police, radio commentators, reporters and correspondents from local newspapers
and the state-owned Imo Broadcasting Corporation. Chosen Church of God seers
boastfully started with an early morning prophecy that the dead young man will
“resurrect” by 12 noon prompt. The digging up of the grave followed immediately
until the body was exhumed.
Then the singing, violent shaking, screaming, cursing, loud
yelling and other theatrical displays in the name of deliverance prayers ensued
while the large crowd of keen onlookers watched with deep interest. From 6.a.m till 12 noon, there was no sign
that the young man was preparing to wake let alone resurrect. Seeing that the
12 noon deadline had passed, the seers quickly issued another prophecy shifting
the hour of resurrection to 3.p.m. By this time, the prayer and singing
sessions became even more intense and violent. 3 p.m came and went. No sign of
life. The Chosen Church prophets again, quickly handed down another prophecy
declaring 6.p.m as the divine resurrection hour. 6.p.m also went by, and the dead man remained
still, lifeless and unresurrected till this day!
Understandably impatient and angry after the 6p.m deadline,
the policemen on standby arrested all the prophets, dancers, singers, clappers
and everybody that accompanied them to the community. But before then, the
Chosen Church prophets had forwarded messages to their head office requesting
for spiritual reinforcement. Undeterred by the arrest of their team members, an
additional team that arrived around 6 p.m continued with the prayer sessions
even more aggressively and vociferously. They prayed and sang all through the
night till the following morning. Still, no sign of resurrection! The police
officers, who had then totally run out of patience, arrested the remaining
Chosen Church members, and everyone connected to the resurrection miracle
including the deceased’s family representatives.
Some of the arrested Chosen Church members are currently on
bail, while a lot more are still in custody till date. The dead body was
deposited at the morgue at the Federal Medical Center, Owerri, as exhibit,
pending further police investigations and prosecution of the false prophets.
I was present at the New Year church service held at St
Lukes Catholic Church, Umuezii, Mbaise where the parish priest’s sermon harped
on the infiltration of false prophets into the Christendom, warning
parishioners to be wary of them. He then invited the members of the deceased
family to tender an unreserved apology to the community for the abominable acts
they committed. (PICTURED ABOVE) The deceased’s elder sister tendered what
seemed like a half-hearted apology on the family’s behalf.
What happened in Imo State is reminiscent of the stories
that feature on Nkan ‘Nbe, a popular Yoruba TV Program that features latter-day
mystical occurrences. The Imo incident provides a compelling and cogent
rationale for the effective regulation of the nefarious activities of churches
whose stock in trade is to constitute public nuisance and to deceive and
hypnotize the gullible. As a direct result of this incident, some Mbaise
communities have proscribed the activities of Pentecostal churches in their
localities.
No comments:
Post a Comment