Samuel Akindele, son of Titilayo Funke Akindele, a 52-year-old Ondo woman who died at the Edo State High Court during proceedings over alleged drug offences, speaks with DANIEL AYANTOYE about her arrest, the circumstances of her death, and his ongoing efforts to secure justice

What kind of woman was your mother, and what was life at home like before her tragic passing?

I live in Oluku, while my mother stayed in the Egosa area of Edo State. My father, who had been supporting us, fell ill and passed away in 2017 when we were living in Ondo State. It was my mother later who moved us to Benin.

She was from Ifon, while my father was from Iju in Ondo State. She had five children, including me, but at the time of her passing, she was living alone with my youngest sibling, who is about 10 years old, while I am 24.

What jobs do you and your siblings do?

We don’t have specific jobs. We hustle daily. Life has been tough, but like my mother, we believe one day things will get better.

What led to her arrest?

She was arrested around the second or third week of January, accused of being in possession of Indian hemp. My mother didn’t have a formal job; she was simply trying to survive while caring for my youngest sibling. I believe she may have turned to selling it because she had no other means of support. She didn’t even have a shop.

Where were you when she was arrested?

I was in Benin, but not at the place of arrest. I heard about it the next day and went to the office of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency. We tried to negotiate her bail, but they demanded N5m. I told them we didn’t have that kind of money. If we did, would this have happened?

It was said she was sick. Can you explain?

Yes. She told them she wasn’t feeling well while in custody, and they eventually took her for a check-up, but it was too late by then. We never saw the medical report. On the day of the court sitting, the judge asked for a doctor’s report, but the NDLEA lawyer claimed they had forgotten in the office. The judge instructed them to bring it the following day.

The next day, my mum’s condition had become critical. She told the NDLEA officers that she was not fit enough to appear in court, but they forced her into their van. I was there that day and begged them to let her stay behind, but they ignored me. I also appealed for her release so she could receive treatment, but they refused. After forcibly taking her to court, she collapsed and later died there. NDLEA officers even accused her of pretending, despite the fact that she had been dead for over an hour.

Were you aware that she was taken for a medical check-up?

No, and when we eventually found out, they did not allow us to see the report. One officer noticed her condition but said he did not have the power to help. Their commander refused to authorise her release. Another woman arrested with her was granted bail after paying over N2m. I used to visit the NDLEA office, which felt more like a company than a detention facility. I saw a lot during those visits.

Did you offer to pay her bail?

We offered N500,000, but they said it was not enough. They later demanded N2m. Initially, they had asked for N5m before reducing it to N3m.

There was controversy over the corpse in a viral video. What happened?

I am the one seen in the white cloth in the video. After the NDLEA confirmed her death, they tried to leave with her corpse, claiming they had handed it over to us. While she was still alive, we had begged them to release her for treatment, but they refused. Lawyers and other sympathisers had to intervene before her body was eventually evacuated to the mortuary.

What did the judge do after she died?

The court dispersed when it became clear that she had died. Everyone ran out, and I do not know when the judge left. It was a very painful scene.

What do you want the government to do?

I need support from Nigerians to help me pursue justice for my mother. Through my lawyer, we have written a petition, but nothing concrete has happened.

Has the NDLEA contacted you since the incident?

No. They only transported her corpse to the mortuary. A female NDLEA officer stood by while my mother died and did nothing. They kept her in custody for about three months before bringing her to court. Government work must be carried out with humanity, with the understanding that officers are also human beings.

How are you coping since her death?

It has been extremely difficult. My father is dead, and now my mother is gone. These people have destroyed my life. Life has never been easy, and situations like this can push people toward crime.

What do you want the government to do for you?

I am calling on the government to ensure justice. We are not criminals, and we need answers. I do not want to take the law into my own hands. If nothing is done, more people may die, and others could be pushed into criminality.

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President, God of White Calling for All Souls Ministries, Prophet Odedoyin Ezekiel, in this interview with BOLA BAMIGBOLA, speaks on why pastors from the church embarked on the visit to the Osun-Osogbo shrine

Can you share a little about yourself and how you got into ministry?

I am Prophet Odedoyin Olawumi Ezekiel. I am an indigene of heavenly Jerusalem. I have had a divine call right from my young age. I belong to all tribes. As a full-time pastor, it’s been over 20 years since I started ministering. All these years, I have never been caught engaging in violence or a fight with anyone. My ministry is spotless.

What is the name of your ministry?

God of White Calling for All Souls Ministries. Our headquarters is in Ikotun, Lagos. We have branches all over Nigeria and abroad. Our headquarters were previously located in Modakeke. We later moved to Osogbo, and now, we are in Lagos.

Some pastors from your church in Osun State recently visited Osun-Osogbo grove, and the visit led to a disagreement. Can you tell us what actually transpired?

Recently, we organised a crusade in Osogbo, and we changed pastors who were working in our different branches. We have a new pastor posted to the Osogbo church. In the course of his work, the pastor was involved in the deliverance of people and crusades, and people kept mentioning the Osun-Osogbo grove. Because of that, the new pastor decided to visit the grove. He led other people, and they went to the grove.

At the entrance to the place, they were made to obtain a ticket. When those they met at the entrance asked them what their mission was, our pastors told them God directed them to the grove. After the security cleared them, they paid for the ticket and entered the groove. As they were going in, they saw some people there.

They proceeded. At one point, they observed a shrine. A chicken was killed, and its blood splashed on an object in the shrine. Men of the spirit are different from men in the flesh. The pastor who led them took notice of the shrine and stopped.

The pastor must have felt that the deity that could suck the blood of a chicken may also kill those people who accompanied him. He went to the shrine and prayed against any form of attack from it against those who followed him.

Immediately after concluding the prayer, he left the shrine with his people. What happened at the shrine was not the cause of the fight.

What led to it?

As they were moving towards the Osun River side, they were accosted by some women who insisted that they must pay them more money. Those women are traditionalists. But my pastors told them they won’t give money to any idol worshipper. The women insisted on collecting cash, whereas the money paid for the ticket at the entrance was transferred to an account. My pastors insisted that they didn’t have any money to pay again, having earlier paid before being allowed on the premises. Those women, however, insisted on collecting money from my pastors, and they (traditionalists) started calling people. Two buses that conveyed people who were colleagues of those women later arrived at the scene.

What then happened when others arrived?

One man later came around. They called him Farinu. He asked his men what had happened. When they were narrating what transpired, they told Farinu, who is their Oluwo, that my pastor laid hands on the Esu deity; he was shocked. He was surprised that my pastor didn’t die after laying hands on Esu. Our own power is far stronger. We don’t fear such things. For him to be surprised that my pastor didn’t die after touching their deity, it means that some people must have died through that deity in the past.

Were you present at the scene when all that happened or were you told before those pastors left for Osun-Osogbo grove?

I was not there. I have not left Lagos in over one month. I was told everything that happened by my pastors. If you check my activities through our social media handles, you will observe that I have been to many places.

I have been to the Dead Sea, where I declared all spirits there powerless. I have been to the Sea of Galilee. Those who need liberation usually invite us to come and help them.

Did you approve the trip to the Osun-Osogbo grove by your pastors?

I didn’t tell them to go there, and I was not even told before they went there. It was the spirit of God that instructed them to visit the place. They had deliverance sessions, and those whom they were praying for possessed strange spirits. That led the pastors to the grove. They did not go there to cause problems or destroy anything. We did not attack the symbol of their faith.

When Farinu intervened and allowed my pastors to leave the area, their belief was that the pastors would die when they got home. But nothing happened to them. Videos were recorded at the scene. They simply wanted to implicate us. The pastor who led others to the shrine did not release any video. I don’t know how those videos got to the Internet. After paying the government, why were the traditionalists also demanding money from the people? The government owns that place. It is a tourist site.

The argument of the traditionalists is that your people attacked the symbol of their faith by declaring that deities are powerless. What is your take?

We didn’t attack their faith. After that incident, they wrote a petition to the DSS. Despite that, those traditionalists went to the branch of my church where they slaughtered a dog and harassed the pastors they met in church. Some monarchs are working with them. One Oyewole joined those who went to our church. He covered his face when they stormed our church, but he made a video earlier that revealed his identity.

What happened on the day some traditionalists visited your church in apparent retaliation to what your men did at the Osun Osogbo grove?

A monarch had announced that he sealed our church. Only the government has that power, and before the government can do that, it will listen to all sides involved in the disagreement. The day they went to the church, they used lots of charms on our pastors, but it did not work. They destroyed chairs. They went there with a hot drink and drank it there, but my people did not react.

When the incident happened, the DSS invited our pastors, and from the headquarters here, we went there with our lawyers. When we got there, the DSS said those people had taken the law into their own hands by going to the church.

When the Olojudo visited the church, the pastor in charge was not around; he was in Akure for ministration and when he got the message, he called the monarch to say that he was not around but would show up once he came back. He also sent the monarch’s number to the headquarters, and we called him, but he did not pick up his calls. The monarch took sides with the traditionalists.

What do you intend to do regarding the sealing of your church?

For me, they did not seal the church because the monarch does not possess the power to shut the church.

The Osun State Government held a meeting with all those involved in the disagreement and CAN representatives were also present. After the meeting, the CAN chairman said he had invited you to a meeting. Do you plan to appear before him?

We are not under the Christian Association of Nigeria, and we are not Christians. We belong to White Calling Religion.

What are the differences between the two?

There are several differences between Christians and us. First, we serve the God who created heaven and earth. The God that created Christians, Muslims and other people. We believe in Jesus Christ as one of the messengers of God. That God is stainless. He doesn’t allow sin. In this ministry, we abhor sins. In our own religion, we are calling people to holiness. Jesus and other messengers belong to that holy God. I have been to Jerusalem, and there I displayed the power of God.

In your own religion, do you use or believe in the Bible?

We have our own holy book, but we have not launched it. It is different from the Bible. We call it the Book of Words. The Bible that Christians carry is just a fraction of words. Our own book is called Book of Words.

When CAN wrote to us, the association said we should come immediately. We felt the letter was not properly written. They can’t just call us and direct us to report immediately. The leadership of CAN can’t just order us to come over. Also, our name is not on the CAN list. There is freedom of association. Their approach to the issues is very wrong.

The Osun State Police Command said a petition has been written against you. What is the way out of this situation?

We have absolute trust in the police. We believe in the leadership of President Bola Tinubu. The police command has called for a meeting, and we will be there. We are not fighting anybody, and we are for peace. Nigeria is our country, and we believe in the country. Regarding the monarch who shut our church, we will meet him and resolve the matter amicably. Our religion preaches peace.

In some of the videos you shared online, you were captured visiting rivers to cast out spirits and shrines. Don’t you feel your activities can expose traditional religion worshippers to ridicule?

I don’t see it that way. In the last video I posted that has gone viral, it was the monarch of that town who invited me, and when I got there, I prayed, and God ministered to me that there was a deity in the town that was hindering its progress. I delivered the message, and the monarch took me to the place. I removed it. We did not intrude. They permitted us to go there. I went to the Dead Sea and declared the spirit there powerless. People are inviting us. We don’t go anywhere without being called to come.

With what has happened after the visit to Osun-Osogbo grove, do you plan to visit more shrines and traditional region sites?

If anyone calls me tomorrow to say that a deity is disturbing them and I should come, I will go there. The visit to Osun-Osogbo grove was embarked upon after divine instruction was received concerning it. We have a church in Epe and some Oro adherents said we can’t open it because they wanted to observe their Oro festival. We rejected the idea and engaged them. We deliberately did not bring the matter online.

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