The preacher went on to explain that cultists in the area had taken it upon themselves to defend him without his prompting.
SAHARA REPORTERS
Apostle Johnson Suleman, the General Overseer of the Omega Fire Ministries International, has claimed that people who criticise him are often attacked by cultists and forced to apologise.
Speaking during a sermon at his church headquarters in Auchi, Edo State, the controversial cleric, Suleman issued a warning to his critics, suggesting that violent consequences await anyone who publicly speaks against him.
“If you want to die, and you’ve been praying for how to die and death hasn’t come, there is a way to make it happen,” Suleman said.
“Come to Auchi and stand by the front gate of our church and say something against me. Somebody will kill you, another will bury you, and the third will be doing praise and worship on your dead body.”
The preacher went on to explain that cultists in the area had taken it upon themselves to defend him without his prompting.
“I have heard cult boys bring people to me,” Suleman said.
“I asked them why they brought the person. They said, ‘This man was insulting you, we beat him.’ I asked who they are, and they said, ‘You won’t like who we are, but you have helped us.’ They made the man apologise and prostrate before me.”
The controversial cleric recounted a dramatic encounter where he claimed he was nearly abducted or assassinated but stood his ground in the face of armed men.
“I left my wife one day and said I was going to pick something. I was driving in a jeep when another car blocked me, and some guys jumped out, guns blazing,” he narrated.
“One of them shouted, ‘Come out!’ I had an orderly with me who immediately lay down in fear, shaking and saying, ‘I’m not a pastor.’ But I refused to lie down. I told them, ‘Come down is okay, but lay down is hard.
“One of the gunmen pointed a weapon at me and said, ‘Shoot him!’ But another one came up and said, ‘Apostle? Oh bad market.’ He then asked for my phone, dialed his number into it, and told me he would call me. Then they left.”
The preacher did not offer evidence to support his claims or acknowledge the potential implications of cultists taking violent action on his behalf.
Suleman, known for his controversial sermons and miracle claims, remains a polarising figure in Nigeria’s Pentecostal Christian scene.
THIS STORY ORIGINALLY APPEARED AT SAHARA REPORTERS