Church on fire! The many troubles of Lazarus Muoka’s Lord’s Chosen

 For many years, distasteful tales surrounding men of God have continued to trigger media frenzy. While few of the sordid stories always dwell on their wiles and romantic dalliances with women, others revolve around fetish-accusations that their miracles are either sham and stage-managed or perpetuated through profane means.

Today, the pastor at the epicentre of the current drama rocking Christendom is of no mean stature, especially in his immediate constituency. In fact, to many Christians, especially his teeming flocks, Pastor Lazarus Muoka, the General Overseer of Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Revival Ministry, is above mortal foibles and worldly failings. This was the view of many, not until recently when scandals and controversies suddenly emerged -scandals which are currently threatening and ‘shaking’ the faith of many who hitherto believed him hook, line and sinker.

Though the Pastor Muoka’s hullabaloo is no longer news to many avid readers and internet freaks, as it has hit boiling points, yet it remains a worrisome and delicate issue, whereby every writer has to tread carefully, to avoid either wrongly vilifying the man of God or victimizing the many confessors who believe they ‘have seen hell in Muoka’s church, hence the need to caution gullible Nigerians.

Among the many people who have vowed to bring Muoka down are his own ‘close friends’ and erstwhile church members whom he had shepherded for years-Chosen Mopol (real name Mrs. Juliet Eze) and Pastor Nnamdi Ofoegbu, founder, Christ Chosen Generation Revival Ministry. The duo are alleged to be responsible for the massive production of an audio and video CDs of purported ‘fake’ miracles performed by the General Overseer of Lord’s Chosen Charismatic Renewal Movement, which is currently circulating around the nation, especially in Lagos, where tongues are endlessly wagging.

The video CD which thousands are sold daily at various markets in Lagos, allegedly shows Chosen Mopol and Ofoegbu confessing to what they described as series of abominable acts being perpetuated by Muoka. Entitled “The Naked Truth About Chosen,” Chosen Mopol who said she initiated the Apron being won by Chosen members across the globe confessed that Muoka is after her life; that she was among those that used to “arrange” miracle testimonies in The Lord’s Chosen; that she had done many dirty things with Pastor Muoka; that members of the church are being hypnotized, among other disgusting allegations which went further to show video and documented evidences.

“He stage-manages miracles to deceive members. I was asked to dress and act like a mad woman before the congregation. I pretended to have been delivered by Muoka from ‘madness.’ I was asked to sit on a wheel chair and dress like a disabled woman and give testimony in the church that Muoka healed me,” she said in d video, disclosing further that she was asked to confess that she was a prostitute and when she started coming to Lord’s Chosen, she was delivered and became a born again.

According to her, pastors and members of the church are subjected to untold hardship and poverty by Muoka. Members are also asked to forfeit all their properties to the church. She explained in the video that after contributing so much for the growth of the church, Muoka abandoned them.

"What I am asking for is the fulfillment of the agreement we both entered into, an agreement to invest into the work of God for which there will be profit and returns. We both agreed that I should invest my life savings and that we are going to reap it many fold when the time comes. I believed him and invested all that I had including the one that did not belong to me. When the time for harvest came he started finding faults with me to embarrass and frustrate me out of the church."

Ofoegbu on his part also testified in the video.

He continued: "A man invests with the hope of reaping. That was why I started investing in this project since 2004. From that time till when I left, I had invested over N300 million. That expanse of land where the church is today and the fleets of luxury buses you see are part of the investment. Others are the planting of the church in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Abidjan, Ikoyi and Ibadan. These are aside the series of crusades we held across the country and beyond. There are many other areas like advertising in print and electronic media," he disclosed.

As widely reported, for many years, Pastor Ofoegbu and Pastor Muoka have been trading punches in and around Lagos to the consternation of their followers. They are pitched against each other over pecuniary issues. Claims and counter-claims by the duo over who erred in the course of propagating the gospel are endless. And for the same reason, they have been guests of the Nigeria Police Force on countless occasions.

Ofoegbu claims that Mouka short-changed him to the tune of N300 million being what he contributed to the growth of the church since inception up to the time he left the church in the year 2006. He claimed that it was an investment based on an unwritten agreement he reached with the General Overseer to invest all he had with the hope of reaping bountifully at the time of harvest. Unfortunately, when it was time for him to enjoy the fruit of his labour, according to him, Muoka allegedly sidelined him. In fact, he has taken his case to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC) and has vowed to pursue it to its logical conclusion; saying he was hypnotized by Muoka to invest such a huge amount of money without restraint.

"I want the EFCC to intervene in this matter. There are a lot of people these days that dupe and hypnotise innocent people in the name of God. The victims are mostly rich people in the society. He cast a spell on me to the point that I virtually spent all I had. Now the scales have fallen off my eyes, I now realize my folly," Ofoegbu who was a traditional ruler and tycoon prior to his conversion raged.

Ironically, it was the same Pastor Muoka that converted him to Christianity. “I was a traditional ruler. I was into different kind of businesses, doing so well, chauffeur driven with escorts. Not until Pastor Muoka came to me and said God wants to use me. That I should join his church; that was how everything started,” he narrated in the spine chilling video CD which was bought and watched by Sunday Express crew.  According to him, he left Lord’s Chosen in 2006 and established his own church christened Christ Chosen Generation Revival Ministry.

However, worried Nigerians have begun to comment on the many messy tales, describing it as shameless and sign of end time. “There is still a skeleton in their cupboard which they have not revealed. Apart from the money Ofoegbu is claiming that Mouka should pay him back, they will still reveal the source of their power. Ofoegbu once stated thus in an interview with the Daily Sun Newspaper: ''Apart from this money, there is still another secret which I will not reveal now.' They are really in a joint business, forcing people to wear banner instead of cloth,” worried observer, Isaac Olaiya stated.

Another critic, Samuel Onyenekwu avowed thus: “There is more to the scandals than meets the eye. How can somebody ask for a refund of the money he donated to the church? Has the church become a business venture where you invest for the purpose of making profit? All the same it is a shame that two men of God are washing their dirty linens in the open," he observes, further noting that both Ofoegbu and Muoka have a duty to explain to Nigerians what actually happened before they parted ways.

Does it mean that the miracles witnessed everyday in the Lord’s Chosen are staged-managed? Both curable and incurable diseases such as, HIV, Cancer, Diabetes, etc, have been alleged cured and testimonies abound from the mouths of those who have been liberated from demonic bondages. Are Nigerians bamboozled with all these? Who really is Pastor Lazarus Muoka? Is him being unnecessarily accused? Are there people who are hell-bent on bringing him down? These and so many vital questions necessitated Sunday Express’ visit to headquarters of the church, located on Oshodi/Apapa Express Way, Ijesha, Lagos. The Public Relations Officer of the church was nowhere to be found, hence, a young man in the Information Unit of the church who simply introduced himself as Abraham was questioned. He said he was not in a position to speak to press or provide the PRO’s phone number but promised to make sure he reaches us on phone as soon as he returns-and he never did until press time.    

Similar scandals that once rocked popular men of God
Pastor Chris Oyakhilome of Christ Embassy was once accused of patronizing a cult for powers. The Christian Pentecostal Mission (CPM) was once in the news that it taught its members deceitful doctrine; a scandal that gave the church a deep image cut.
Two years back, a publication claimed that Pastor Enoch Adeboye of the Redeemed Christian Church of God was at war with the children of the late founder of the church who demanded immediate return of their father’s property (the church). The family of the General Superintendent of Deeper Life Bible Church, Pastor W.F. Kumuyi, was a topic of sensational publication recently over the suspension of his wife and a son of theirs who was said to have engaged in an unscriptural marriage.
A dying man of God some time ago claimed he saw the late Bimbo Odukoya of Fountain of Life Bible Church, Ilupeju, Lagos in hell. Just recently, sexual scandals also rocked Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo of Commonwealth of Zion Assemble (COZA); the list goes on and on!  Indeed, there has always been something to find church leaders guilty of; while some are merely not far from fabrications, others as believed to be genuine confessions



 By JAMES EMMANUEL