About 26 years ago, Nigeria’s former Head of State, General Sani Abacha, passed away. Daniel Breakforth recounts an incident that led to a prayer from Bishop David Oyedepo for the late General Sani Abacha.
On December 24, 1989, Charles Taylor, a Liberian who had escaped from an American prison to avoid extradition, crossed into Liberia and, with others, launched a rebellion against the Liberian Head of State, Sergeant Samuel Doe. This marked the beginning of the First Liberian War, which over the next seven years claimed around 250,000 lives. Early in the conflict, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) formed the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), primarily composed of Nigerian troops alongside forces from other West African nations. In September 1990, Samuel Doe was captured and tortured to death at the ECOMOG headquarters, further intensifying the war with multiple factions vying for control of Liberia. By March 1991, the Sierra Leonean crisis had begun, eventually leading to over 500,000 deaths over the next 11 years. Adding to the turmoil, the Rwandan Genocide, a mass slaughter of Tutsi, Twa, and moderate Hutu populations, took place between April 7 and July 15, 1994, resulting in the deaths of about a million people.
During this turbulent period, in 1989, Living Faith Church, a six-year-old Pentecostal church in Barnawa, Kaduna, Northern Nigeria, had relocated its headquarters to a group of disused brothels in Iyana Ipaja. The church’s leader, David Oyedepo, who had visited church members and military friends at the Nigerian Defence Academy in Kaduna, began to take an interest in the unfolding crises in Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Rwanda. Following the annulled June 12, 1993, Nigerian presidential election, which led to the resignation of Interim National Government leader Chief Ernest Shonekan and the subsequent takeover by General Sani Abacha, Oyedepo, deeply moved by the suffering caused by these conflicts, felt compelled to act.
Bishop Oyedepo has always believed that African challenges require African solutions and viewed wars as manifestations of satanic oppression. His mission was to liberate the world from all forms of oppression through the preaching of the Word of Faith.
This was not the first time Living Faith Church engaged in acts of generosity. As far back as April 9, 1984, when the total offering for a Sunday service was just ten naira (N10), the church donated the entire amount to a member in need. The church had consistently prioritized welfare matters, formally establishing the Education Bursary and the Creativity Promotion Forum in Kaduna in 1992, alongside other empowerment initiatives. Even today, a significant portion of the church’s budget is allocated to welfare. To further its humanitarian efforts, the church created the Relief Promotion Agency to provide food, clothing, and shelter for victims of natural disasters and civil unrest.
The Role of Admiral Ebhaleme
The General Sani Abacha led Provisional Military Council (PRC) and Nigerian Military Government through ECOMOG was leading efforts in Liberia and Sierra Leone. Though same could not be done in Rwanda, Nigeria nevertheless decided to send relief to all 3 African countries. The Government through the Nigerian Ministry of Defence led these efforts. Several shiploads were sent to these countries. Commodore Peter Ebhaleme, a Top Brass Officer in the Nigerian Navy and member of the Living Faith Church who happened to be a member of the Church and Director of Operations at the Naval Headquarters was coordinating the Navy role in the ECOMOG efforts. Being close to the leadership of the Living Faith Church and knowing the interest of Bishop Oyedepo, he acted as go between and link between the 2 organizations. Whenever the Government was to make a delivery to any of the countries, he would inform Bishop Oyedepo. Bishop Oyedepo would consequently mobilize the Church. So much supplies were gathered that sometimes there was no space for worship. Within a short time, supplies of relief were made to Rwanda, Liberia and Sierra Leone in no small measure. Notably, anytime the Ministry of Defence was sending a shipload of supplies on behalf of Nigeria, Living Faith Church would send twice the volume of what the Government of Nigeria was sending. Consequently, a partnership was established between the Nigerian Government and the Church as regards welfare to the needy.
Charity Begins at Home: The Advent into KOMA
In January 1998, a documentary done by the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) went viral. It was that of more than 55,000 people living and moving about naked on the Koma Hills in Jada Local Government, Adamawa State of North Eastern Nigeria. The news eventually got to Bishop Oyedepo. He was filled with compassion and decided to do something about it as usual. The announcement was made in Church. ''I was earning N3000 monthly then and did not think I could afford giving money. Bishop Oyedepo had taught us to give only what we have and not what we do not have. 2 Corinthians 9:7…A message you never hear from his false accusers who always bandy the rhetoric of collecting offering from poor members. (sic) I remember giving my best and only pair of suit which had just been gifted to me by my Dad after he got a new job in an oil servicing company. (my parents had both been jobless for some years) I also added the Aiwa Walkman he got me from Dubai and gave it at the end of that January'' according to ChurchGist.
Going forward, the Church members gave generously to the Koma People. The Koma People are mainly subsistence farmers who feed mainly on food crops such as rice, maize and millet which are grown in commercial scale. To this end, the Church raised millions of naira in cash while trailer loads of food and cloths were contributed. However, there was a major problem. There were no roads to Koma hills and because of the terrain, trailers could not go up the Hills to deliver the supplies. In essence, there were no vehicles to convey these supplies. The supplies were thus stuck in Adamawa. Peter Ebhaleme who was now a Rear Admiral and Navy Secretary thought of a solution. Some 2 years earlier, General Abacha had ordered the purchase of TATA Trucks through Umaru Dikko, a former powerful Nigerian Minister of the ‘UK Kidnap Fame’. The Trucks were under the custody of the Nigerian Navy for distribution to the Armed Forces as well as the Nigeria Police once the directive was given. Admiral Ebhaleme did the unthinkable. He loaned 15 of the Trucks to take to Koma to make the delivery before they were allocated as part of the partnership that had been going on with Living Faith Church but he did it by committing a grave error. To avoid the possibility of being denied his request, he refused to inform his boss and the Chief of the Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Mike Akhigbe. The whole delivery operation took 4 days from Lagos to Koma and back with Admiral Ebhaleme getting up the Koma Hills to witness the movement before flying back to Lagos.
Unfortunately or perhaps fortunately, the NTA news crew in the newly created Adamawa State met the team making the delivery to Koma. Inquisitive on seeing a group comprising soldiers and pastors with trucks tagged ‘Ministry of Defence’ and banners with the inscription ‘Living Faith Church’ asked to know the relationship between the Church and the Ministry of Defence. The team not knowing how the vehicles had come about referred NTA to the Ministry of Defence. At that time, the Minister of Defence was the Nigerian Head of State himself, General Sani Abacha. The NTA Team reported this in the News same day at 4pm, Mrs Ebhaleme saw the news and asked her husband if he got permission. His response was that he did a fast one to help the Koma People.
Admiral Akhigbe Provoked
Same night, as the news was on, the CNS who had previously complained about Ebhaleme’s fanaticism called Rear Admiral Ebhaleme and asked him if he was watching the news. He responded in the affirmative. Who permitted the release of the vehicles to Yola, the CNS asked. “I did” Ebhaleme responded. “On whose authority” Admiral Akhigbe asked again. After a quick pause, Ebhaleme answered “The Holy Spirit”. The CNS boiled over. “Holy what? What Nonsense!? What holy rubbish? How dare you? God punish your father, mother and Holy Spirit.” Akhigbe soon reported the matter to Admiral Aikhomu, the former CNS and Vice President under General Babangida who was a close friend and boss to Ebhaleme especially while Ebhaleme was the Director of the Naval Intelligence. Admiral Aikhomu pleaded on behalf of the Navy Secretary knowing the gravity of the offence, a case of misappropriation and misapplication of government property with penalty as dismissal from service.
Akhigbe however added a caveat that since he did not send Ehaleme, he would not defend him before General Abacha. He consequently gave Admiral Ebhaleme the option of a quiet resignation before the Head of State got to know about it. Ebhaleme requested to go and think about it and went into prayers. He believed that his action was not for self-aggrandisement as he had not taken the vehicles to his village in Edo but to Yola. Finally, he decided to serve the punishment instead of resigning. At that time, General Diya and a few others were already in the Jos Prisons and were around this time sentenced to death by firing squad in April 1998. Admiral Akhigbe consequently raised a team to investigate while Ebhaleme was sent on compulsory leave. The Navy Secretary then used the opportunity to spend more time at the Winners’ Chapel in Raji Oba, Iyana Ipaja, always dancing excitedly and praising God despite the circumstances. His Orderly could not understand this and went to inform Bishop Oyedepo that his boss had just lost his job. Bishop Oyedepo sent for the Admiral after service and the following ensued:
Bishop: What am I hearing?
Admiral: I am on leave.
Bishop: How long is your leave?
Sensing no escape, Admiral Ebhaleme opened up to Bishop Oyedepo.
Bishop: “He abused your parents and the Holy Spirit? Give me your hand: You said the Holy Spirit told you? I join my faith with yours and I decree that if anything adverse comes from this matter, God did not call me… Go and tell your Boss what I have said”.
Few weeks later, Admiral Peter Ebhaleme was asked to return to work pending the report of the investigation. Some 3 months later in May 1998 however, during a top security meeting with the Chiefs of Army, Naval and Air Force Staff, a phone call came to Admiral Ebhaleme. It was Bishop Oyedepo asking him to come as soon as possible. Once Ebhaleme got the opportunity, he went straight to Iyana Ipaja to meet the Bishop. On arrival, Bishop Oyedepo presented a letter to Admiral Ebhaleme. It had arrived earlier from the Presidential Villa, Abuja and what was more, it had been signed by General Abacha himself.
The letter read thus:
“Dear Bishop,
It has come to the knowledge of the Federal Government what you and your able Lieutenants have done for the people of Koma Hills…If all religious organisations can do the same thing, Nigeria would be a place worth living for inter-religious relationship. On behalf of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, I wish to thank you and your able Lieutenants for a job well done, May Allah bless you.
Signed: Sani Abacha, General,
Head of State and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
The Admiral read the letter about 3 times and began to jump and dance in excitement. Eventually, he began to weep profusely, shedding tears of joy.
What had happened was that the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) had heard what Winners’ Chapel had done at Koma by providing supplies and digging boreholes. UNICEF decided to take over from the Church and needed the permission of the Federal Government to do so. Consequently, they sent a request to the Head of State. It should be noted that Nigeria had become a pariah nation at that time with all sorts of sanctions placed on the Country by major western nations and that added lots of significance to the UNICEF request made to Abacha.
To cut this long story short, the next day, Admiral Ebhaleme took the letter to work and presented it to the CNS. Admiral Mike Ahigbe first glanced at the letter; not sure of what he was seeing, he put on his glasses and adjusted himself in his chair and read again. He was confused, looked at Ebhaleme and said “Peter, I am tired of you, Leave my office, just go away”. That was the end of the matter while General Abacha died the next month.
Finally, I could have been rated among the poor church members when I GAVE to the Koma Project. Today, I am no longer in that category; infact for the records, I have given out 2 cars including a brand new one and sponsored a few people who are not my children through secondary school and even Covenant University.
Sources:
From Cassock to the Sword: An Autobiography of Rear Admiral Peter Ebhaleme.
On Eagles Wings: My First 30th Year Adventure in Ministry by David O Oyedepo.
A Heart For God-by Daniel Breakforth.
Holy Bible: Authorized King James Version
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