Governor Ayo Fayose of Ekiti State in the early hours of Wednesday, prevented the operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) from arresting the Founder of The Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, Apostle Johnson Suleiman, in Ado Ekiti.
Apostle Suleiman, who is in Ekiti for a two-day crusade that began on Tuesday, was alleged to have condemned alleged attempt to Islamise Nigeria and asked members of his church in Auchi, Edo State, to resist the killings by suspected Fulani herdsmen.
Fayose, who had participated in the first day of the programme, was said to have received a distress call from the pastor after paying a courtesy call to the Government House.
It was learnt that the operatives of the DSS stormed the hotel room of the pastor in the Adebayo area of the State capital and attempted to force their way to his room.
They were, however, resisted by security men of the hotel that insisted on knowing their mission.
Minutes later, Fayose led a rescue mission to the hotel and saved the pastor from being arrested by the operatives.
Narrating his ordeal to journalists around 2am on Wednesday, Suleiman said, “I came to Ado Ekiti for a crusade; but I had a premonition that I was being trailed after I preached that Christians should revenge any attack or killings by the Fulani herdsmen.
"These Fulani herdsmen have turned many Christians to orphans and widows but the time has come to protect ourselves.
“I received several calls from hidden numbers trying to locate where I am and I had warned my security not to allow any Fulani man to come nearer me. So, when the men of DSS came in the middle of the night, I knew their mission and I had to call the Governor because if they arrest me, they will put this country on fire.”
Fayose, who criticised the DSS for ambushing a man of God during a crusade, said he expected the security agency to show decorum.
The governor added, “I expect the security operatives to invite him if they have any issue with him instead of arresting him in the dead of the night after a powerful and spirit-filled crusade in my state.
“I personally attended his crusade and I think it is wrong that a man of God, who is harmless, who could be invited, to be ambushed.
“Are Christians and Moslems under different dispensations of the rule of law?. That’s why I went there to rescue him. Let them kill two of us together. But when they saw my vehicles and the crowd, they fled.
“But we have information that instructions came from DSS in Abuja that the Pastor should be arrested. We are not in a fascist state. The Federal Government must learn to respect the rights of Nigerians and freedom of expression.”
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