TheCable

In the past week, series of accusations and counter-accusations have been traded by Johnson Suleman Johnson, founder of Omega Fire Ministry and Stephanie Otobo, a Canada-based singer.

Suleman was recently in the news for instructing his security aides to kill herdsmen around his church. This led to an invitation by the Department of State Services (DSS) after a failed attempt to arrest him.

But just as the DSS issue was about to die down, Otobo brought Suleman back into the news for a wrong reason.

The lady accused him of reneging on his promise to marry her after impregnating her and giving her concoction which destroyed the pregnancy.

To substantiate her claims, she also released screenshots from her purported chat with Suleman.

Through her lawyer, Festus Keyamo, Otobo threatened to slam a N500 million lawsuit against Suleman.

Following her allegations, she was arrested and arraigned before a chief magistrate court in Lagos.

Otobo was said to have been arrested for attempting to extort and blackmail Suleman through the allegations made against him.

SULEMAN’S DENIAL

Suleman has said all the claims made by Otobo are lies, describing her as an unstable individual. He has demanded an apology from the law firm representing Otobo as well as the payment of N1bn for blackmail and injury.

Speaking through his representatives, Osa Director Esq, the cleric narrated his version of his encounter with Otobo.

He said she was a night club stripper whom he met in 2015 and assisted on two occasions.

“Our client insisted that she must change her ways, if indeed she wants to receive Christ. But she later complained of no other means of survival and pleaded for assistance to open an Africa Kitchen food Store,” Suleman’s lawyer said.

“Our client being a habitual and chronic philanthropist, with a heart for the poor and the underprivileged promised to assist, and he did. After almost a year she later complained of being broke and business was not looking well and asked for financial assistance from our client, which he obliged.

“Those were the only two occasions our clients rendered financial help to her, and withdrew after some unsavoury disclosures by Stephanie and her reluctance to truly mend her ways, and embrace Christ.”

Suleman also denied Otobo’s claims that their families conducted a marriage introduction ceremony. He asked her to furnish the public with evidence to back her claims.

“If true that our Client proposed marriage to Stephanie and conducted a marriage introduction ceremony, we challenged her to provide evidence of the occasion, either photographs or video clips,” Suleman’s lawyer said.

“Who were the family members present at the occasion? Where was the ceremony conducted? We have since contacted the father of Stephanie, one Revered Benson Otobo, who pastors a church in Warri and have businesses in Lagos and Abuja.

“He described his daughter as ‘wayward and desperate to make money’ He said he was not even aware that Stephanie was in Nigeria and thoroughly denied any marriage introduction ceremony, saying that Apostle Suleman never came to his house, or family home to introduce himself as suitor to his daughter.”

Suleman said he never had any physical contact with Otobo, saying they only communicated through the telephone.

JOHNSON’S WIFE ENTERS THE PICTURE

Lizy Suleman, wife of the embattled pastor, in defense of her husband, has described the photos released by Otobo as “photoshop”.

She blamed politicians for orchestrating her husband’s public persecution and the sex scandal hovering over his ministry.

Lizy said her husband’s vocal stance against the killing of Christians in the southern Kaduna crisis was the cause of his problems.

“Since the day my husband said they should stop the killing of Christians, those who are not happy with that statement are doing everything possible to pull down the lord’s anointed,” she said.

“I have known my husband for the past 19 years and if you are living with a man who is promiscuous or adulterous, you will know, especially if you are an intelligent woman.

“For the 19 years that I am married to my husband, even while we were courting, we had never had any issue over any woman.

“For all the pictures that have been released, you can release more but it will never replace the picture of my husband in my heart.

“As you can, those pictures were photo-shopped. Nigerians are so gullible because they believe everything.”

OTOBO DOES NOT HAVE ‘ENOUGH EVIDENCE’

After being released from police custody, rather than lay low, Otobo appeared hell-bent on carrying out her crusade.

A press conference was organised on her behalf in Keyamo’s Lagos office. During the press parley, she shared sordid details of her alleged sexual relationship with Suleman.

Otobo said she has been involved in different bouts of sexual encounters with Suleman in Italy, New York and Nigeria.

She alleged that Suleman is obsessed with threesomes, sexual orgies and also accused him of being sexually involved with a light-skinned Ghanaian actress as well as a Nigerian actress, Daniella Okeke.

Otobo also made allegations that Suleman pays different ladies N400,000 for sexual activity per night while sharing screenshots of alleged video calls with the cleric.

She also said the cleric had confided in her that sexual relations with his wife was virtually non-existent.

“Most of the times we spent together, we had sex. I refused to have a threesome with him because I’m not a lesbian and I don’t like women touching me,” she had said.

“He told me he did that with all his past girlfriends, that I was the only one (who refused), that it’s very rude that I can do that to him.”

She accused Suleman of “trying to capture her physically, spiritually, and mentally”.

Otobo noted that the clergyman was “discreet” about their relationship, and lamented not saving enough evidence to solidify her claims.

“I wanted to get rid of him and deleted his number, everything. It was when I suspected something was going on, last year, it was when I started gathering evidence,” she said.

JOHNSON BLASTS OTOBO’S LAWYER

Subsequently, Suleman’s spokesperson Phrank Shaibu accused Keyamo of plotting to “unveil cloned video clips” to prove that he had an amorous relationship with Otobo.

He also said Keyamo and his sponsors were plotting to harm Otobo should she refuse to make the accusations against the pastor.

“It was gathered that Keyamo and his paymasters have also decided to kill or terribly harm the said Miss Otobo and frame Apostle Suleman or his agents as being responsible for the heinous act,” she said.

KEYAMO’S FIRM BLOWS HOT

In response, the firm says it has nothing personal against the pastor, describing his allegation of conspiracy as a “nonsensical smokescreen”.

The chambers maintained that the pastor paid millions into Otobo’s account and also claimed to have nude pictures of him.

“We make bold to say that when criminal investigations commence, all these text messages and pictures would be subjected to serious forensic analysis, and the truth would be established,” said a statement released by the firm.

“The hotels they slept in and the evidence of their meetings in and out of this country would be revealed. The pitiable excuse of “photoshop” has become a convenient escape route for all culprits caught on tape these days.”

OTOBO CHALLENGES POLICE

Otobo, who pleaded not guilty to the four-count charge of terrorism, fraud, and blackmail levelled against her, called on the police to check her bank records to verify whether or not the cleric sent money to her from his bank account.

“If I was a cheap prostitute, how much do you send a cheap prostitute in Canada all the way from Nigeria. I’m based in Canada I’m sure there are a lot of women that needs money here in Nigeria, how many women or cheap prostitutes has he sent money here in Nigeria?

“We are petitioning the police on that. And also the issue of photoshopping pictures, in between the photoshopped pictures there should be an original copy if the pictures were photoshopped, it must be photoshopped from something, he should provide that. Because I have the cell phones that I used to take the pictures, I still have every original pictures.

“Also, the police should check my passport, he took me to Napoli, he had a programme there, a conference for three days. The police should check his passport, the period it was stamped to Napoli and check my passport, the period I was stamped to Napoli if it was the same stamp. He should wake up and face the truth.

“I want the police to check on the issue when he gave me substance to drink and that almost cost me my life, this was one of the main reasons that really caused all of this.”

‘NO MORE COMMENTS’

After another lady was reported to have come forward with similar allegations of a sexual affair with Suleman, the directorate of media, Omega Fire Ministry Worldwide, on Sunday barred its members from speaking on the matter.

“It has become imperative that we advise all Omega Children and Christians Worldwide to put an end to the ongoing media war that we have engaged in. Every wise person would know that this is not a battle of humans but one between the Kingdom of God and that of darkness,” said the statement.

“Therefore, nobody is permitted further to issue a statement or comment on the matter. All Facebook Live Videos on the issue should also stop forthwith. It is advised that we spend our time concentrating on more relevant issues that bothers on the Kingdom.

“We are well aware were all these are coming from and we will deal with it spiritually.”

A video posted online by Celebration TV, owned by Omega Ministry, showed Suleman assuring his congregation that the people behind his ordeal will be exposed in 24 hours.

“God just told me something. And in 24 hours, marine will be disgraced publicly. I’m not just prophesying to you, I’m prophesying on myself. In 24 hours, the truth will be exposed.

“In 24 hours, the marine kingdom will be disappointed. Kingdom of the water and their representatives, that made themselves available tool will be disgraced. And they shall know that it’s the ‘I am that I am’ that sent me.

“If the devil wants people to start doubting you, he attacks your reputation. We know this. And they won’t stop. It’s the truth. One problem, because I said ‘don’t kill Christians.’ That’s all. There’s nothing else. You come out doing drama, acting movies,” he said.

At the moment, all the parties involved in the scandal are sticking to their accounts of events and no one intends to shift ground, it appears.

The dirty, yet entertaining drama of the sex scandal rages on.