NaijaPositive.com

admin · Site Admin Joined: 25 May 2007 Posts: 5404

Abuse in Nigerian Churches - 1

All focus was on Catholic churches recently, but there are many Nigerian churches that are equally if not more guilty of similar and even more ghastly sexual and other crimes against both children and wives of their parishioners, and sadly enough these include incidents in their parishes and branches right here in the U.S.

The only difference is that no gag orders and settlements ever occur as they use their own creative and sometimes spiritual maneuvers to threaten and intimidate their victims to prevent them from talking. Some have been known to even enslave their victims after causing discord between spouses so they can continue to milk their victims for sex and money and sometimes assets.

If a hotline is made open for anonymous reporting, the list will probably supercede the list of the victims of the 419 scam to date.

The advice should therefore be not only to keep a keen eye on who you entrust your kids to (be it in the church, mosque or elsewhere), but also keep a very keen eye on who you entrust your wives, sisters and female family members and loved ones to.

Long gone are the days when all religious institutions were worthy of their roles as havens and sanctuaries of morality, now the immoralities that occur in some of these religious establishments can probably equal those which occur in whore houses, except that those acts are more orderly and mutually agreed to between the participants.

People and sometimes whole family units are exploited in some of these churches for money, sex, and whatever else they can be scammed for and these churches especially the ones in foreign countries including the U.S. have mostly escaped scrutiny, prosecution and exposure by hiding under the umbrella of "separation between Church and State".

Even where reports for any incidences have been made, the western world's inability to comprehend some of the cultural differences have caused some authorities to dismiss some of the reported activities as issued to be settled by the parties of the same language or national origins.

Until the hypocrisies of these religious institutions are exposed and addressed to curb their being used as havens by perpetrators for their religious scams, exploitation and immoral acts, the very fiber of society shall continue to decay, because the next generation of children would probably be exploited by the victims of the current ones.

Cxsm
12th April '02

Abuse in Nigerian Churches -2

If people do not speak out, no resolutions can be attained and once people know they can feel safe to report the perpetrators without the fear of stigma, retaliation, endangerment etc. I believe more people will come out to report and only then will the perpetrators begin to realize that they can no longer make double-victims of those they've been exploiting, abusing and who knows what else. Had more people been encouraged to discuss their truths publicly before now, maybe the scandals being exposed now, would not have grown this much.

I speak of double-victimization, because not only are these people victimized by the initial acts of these predators, they receive a 2nd blow when they and sometimes their families are then threatened, harassed, manipulated and at times attacked physically and spiritually, and tormented to prevent them from reporting.

This is the era of open and available communication and as gaps are bridged, those who need help should be able to reach out and realize that they can indeed receive help somewhere.

Just listening to the stories of the Catholics who have now come forward to speak of their traumas and the effects upon their lives, considering most live in a western society where help is readily available; one can only imagine the plight of Nigerians where such public resources and help are incomparable and "hush" is the word, coupled by the fact that diabolism is the order of the day for some who use it to scare and taunt their victims.

Our quickness in covering up our misdeeds whether it be personally or as a society, is the main reason why the grandeur exposures are now taking place. Not to say that there are not predators in all sections of society, the hypocrisy that places that are supposed to be places of safe haven, harboring some of the deadliest predators with ongoing cover ups is the issue at hand, and sadly enough whether Nigerians accept to admit it or not, the fact is that "it does occur in the Nigerian society and in vastly unreported proportions".

It is not an unknown fact that in 'some' non-Orthodox churches, in Nigeria and Nigerian churches abroad to be specific, the pastors, etc. are not subject to the same thorough and sometimes vigorous standards as far as religious education, standards, doctrines, expectations and oaths that those who have truly earned their collars have, hence anyone can get up any day, declare him/herself a pastor, rent a warehouse and begin any acts of exploitations, after luring congregations with their charismatic acts and sometimes very questionable signs and wonders. Neither are they subject to the same punishment that orthodox and organized churches are subject to.

I wonder if you've ever given thought to the "previously" undeclared reasons behind why a lot of Christians have fallen away from Orthodox churches, joined some other denominations and then dropped out of church-going completely. Not all women and men, and even youths that dropped out from Catholic churches for instance, left because of their "so-called" rigid laws (which are subject to interpretations/relativity), as some have always known and others are now beginning to realize from the unfolding events

The real reasons why people are leaving can only be truly known when there are sincere attempts to find out why and then to resolve the issues instead of "some" churches just trying to woo parishioners by providing more invigorating music, charisma or belittling of other denominations, and whatever gimmicks 'some' churches choose to use.

As in every section of society there are wolves in sheep's clothing and devil incarnates pretending to be pastors or whatever titles they command {as we know some pastors are 'self' rather than 'God' ordained as we recognize them by their fruits, (the topic of anointing vs appointment is another issue to be discussed separately)} and so far we are now seeing that special treatment has only enabled them and worsened scenarios.

I truly feel for innocent and God fearing pastors who not only take their oaths seriously, but have to take the extra work of delivering, healing, counselling and reintegrating those who have been victimized, into the church body and society as a whole, and can only commend their efforts and pray God continues to strengthen them.

I hope and pray this will be the beginning, albeit a minute contribution to the cleansing of immoralities in the houses of religion in Nigeria and their parishes, branches and extensions worldwide.

Cxsm
16th April '02

© Cxsm 2002 All Rights Reserved

_________________
May we be strengthened with the ability, willingness and capabilities to be good ambassadors of Nigeria contributing to its uplifting, rather than its detriment. - Cxsm

admin · Site Admin Joined: 25 May 2007 Posts: 5404

--- In abujaNig@yahoogroups.com, "asame" asame00@......com wrote:

Cxsm,

I agree totally. In many ways, the abuse in some Nigerian and other African churches is much worse than 419. For example, aside from the usual sexual thing, there is the is unimaginable lack of humanity and morality in the way the churches (born again or spiritual) become rotweilers for money.

Does anyone remember the case of little Victoria was tortured to death by her Aunt here in the UK? As far as the church was concerned, the poor child was filled with demons (they had to keep her Aunts change coming in, didn't they?), so they prayed to cast the demons out of a child that needed rescue, adding to and feeding off her trauma.

They prey on the innocent and run numerous franchises with the Sunday offerings of the desperate (your local fried chicken shop might belong to your pastor as does the church building). The Aunt and her boyfriend went to court, the church went free!

How many lives have been destroyed? How many marriages have been broken? How many are dead? How many futures wrecked? How many hopes destroyed? How many children derailed? How much suffering and trauma?

We can change this and put an end to such evil. SOMETHING MUST BE DONE!
If anyone is interested, we can group together to:
a.. Create public awareness
b.. Offer friendship and counsel to the victims
c.. Forcefully sensitize governments (Western and African) to the evil in the churches
d.. Collate evidence for prosecution of individual churches.

I would appreciate the input of other forum members (especially victims and legal practitioners).

admin · Site Admin Joined: 25 May 2007 Posts: 5404

Dear Asame,

I definitely second the setup of some group to address these issues.

(The rest of my response is in part 2 of the above write-up.)

Cxsm

admin · Site Admin Joined: 25 May 2007 Posts: 5404

-- In abujaNig@y..., OgbunugwuAI@a... wrote: 4/16/02

Dear Whatever you call yourself,

I am not a Roman Catholic priest. I am an Anglican Priest. It looks like you are the type that dine on emotions and sweeping generalizations. There are Priests who have messed up in the Roman Catholic Church but there are thousands of them who have lived up to their vows and at peace with their God. We cannot bruise all Catholic Priests because some bad eggs are found among them. Be a man. In your write up you took all Nigerian Churches and lambasted them showing the crime of society emanates from there and goes to roost there. You are wrong my friend. Jesus himself trained twelve Galileans and one of them fell out. That was not the fault of Jesus but the fault of Judas.

Do not be hostile to the Church because no one living or dead can destroy the Church. The Church belongs to God. Remember also that the Church has never one day claimed to be spotlessly clean. What makes the Church unique is that it recognizes that her people are sinners asking God for mercy and deliverance. Yes, people fall and people give birth to disappointments. Even Peter denied his master and Judas sold him. Peter asked for forgiveness and was made clean again. If Judas asked for forgiveness instead of killing himself. he could also have received pardon.

Every sensible person should remember the Church with prayers and not with arrogant boasts. Whoever contravenes the law should answer to the law. If any priest turns into a sex abuser that person should answer for his crime but that will not be grounds for smearing all ministers of the gospel. So be sure of what you say lest you kill the innocent without knowing it. Remember that most of us would have been dead by now or still climbing our palm trees with those primitive ropes but for the Church. True or false? If the Church is in crisis today, all of us should mourn because all of us have benefited and continue to benefit from the Church today and tomorrow and even after we are dead. The Church must prayerfully work for ways to change what has not gone well and God will help her do that. Please be humble about what is happening.

No one is happy. When you see a Priest of God in handcuffs is not a matter for jubilation. It calls for weeping. For prayers and a change which God himself will bring to resanctify his people. Do you understand me?

I love you.

Rev. Augustine.
*************************************************************************************
From: c. cxsm

Dear Rev. Augustine,

I choose to respect you and not address you the way you have chosen to address me, because of who I am and how I was raised. I can present my views without the need to get personal or judgmental.
After all the forum is for the sake of open discussions and we should be able to agree to disagree, regardless of our professions and emotions.

To begin with I was quite clear in my opening statement when I stated that "All focus is presently on the Catholic churches right now, but there are many Nigerian churches that are equally if not more guilty of similar and even more ghastly sexual and other crimes against both children and wives of their parishioners, and sadly enough these include incidents in their parishes and branches right here in the U.S."

My statement does not generalize that these acts occur in all churches, neither does it state that they occur only in Catholic churches. Moreso, neither my intent nor statements are attempts to smear all ministers of the gospel.

I was raised and am still a practicing Christian (notice I did not say "church-goer) and because of my education, exposure, residences and travels I've had the benefit of attending various types of churches in my lifetime without necessarily converting as I believe in one God, one faith one baptism; but that does not prevent me from speaking the truth as far as what I know from my personal experiences, other peoples accounts of their experiences, (including spouses whose wives and family members have been victimized) as well as from countless observations, and granting support and counselling to some victims.

Until you personally know someone that has been exploited, and when I speak of exploitation, (I do not narrowly define that by sexual acts, but include monetarily, emotionally, spiritually, etc.) you may just continue to assume that the victims of such acts are minimal and their cries of woes are sweeping generalizations.

Maybe I should throw the challenge to you to start a hotline and then give an account of those who are bold enough to come forward, maybe then you will not be quick to make some of your conclusions.

Our quickness in covering up our misdeeds whether it be personally or as a society, is the main reason why the grandeur exposures are now taking place. Not to say that there are not predators in all sections of society, the hypocrisy that places that are supposed to be places of safe haven, harboring some of the deadliest predators with ongoing cover ups is the issue at hand, and sadly enough whether Nigerians accept to admit it or not, the fact is that it does occur in the Nigerian society and in vastly unreported proportions.

It is not an unknown fact that in 'some' non-Orthodox churches, in Nigeria and Nigerian churches abroad to be specific, the pastors, etc. are not subject to the same thorough and sometimes vigorous standards as far as religious education, standards, doctrines, expectations and oaths that those who have truly earned their collars have, hence anyone can get up any day, declare him/herself a pastor, rent a warehouse and begin any acts of exploitations, after luring congregations with their charismatic acts and sometimes very questionable signs and wonders. Neither are they subject to the same punishment that orthodox and organized churches are subject to.

We're discussing the ills of society and until we cleanse from inside out, whether it be from within the police that are supposed to protect society or religious establishments, churches and mosques that are supposed to morally and spiritually protect their parishioners, men, women and children included, the very fiber of society will continue to decay.

I hold no hostility towards the Church or the true purpose of what Christ meant the Church to be, and I hold no hostility towards my fellow mankind, I even agree that yes, prayers and forgiveness are mostly needed, to be offered on behalf of the predators and exploiters, but the truth remains the truth albeit in Christ's time or in ours; cover ups, denials and apathy have never been known to eradicate personal or societal ills. Enabling creates worse problems and sometimes 'tough love' is just the required medicine.

I wonder if you've ever given thought to the "previously" undeclared reasons behind why a lot of Christians have fallen away from Orthodox churches, joined some other denominations and then dropped out of church-going completely. Not all women and men, and even youths that dropped out from Catholic churches for instance left because of their "so-called" rigid laws (which are subject to interpretations/relativity), as some have always known and others are now beginning to realize from the unfolding events.

Some of the people that have opted to pray, praise and worship God from their homes, (a no. of which is growing) did not leave just because they found the services boring, as we all know solo-worship is not the type God designated, neither can it match communal worship.

The reasons why people are leaving can only be truly known when there are sincere attempts to find out why and then to resolve the issues instead of "some" churches just trying to woo parishioners by providing more invigorating music, charisma or belittling of other denominations, and whatever gimmicks 'some' churches choose to use.

As in every section of society there are wolves in sheep's clothing and devil incarnates pretending to be pastors or whatever titles they command {as we know some pastors are 'self' rather than 'God' ordained as we recognize by their fruits, (the topic of anointing vs appointment is another issue to be discussed separately)} and so far we are now seeing that special treatment has only enabled them and worsened scenarios.

I truly feel for innocent and God fearing pastors who not only take their oaths seriously, but have to take the extra work of delivering, healing, counselling and reintegrating those who have been victimized into the church body and society as a whole, and can only commend their efforts and pray God continues to strengthen them.

Personally the most evil people I've ever met in my life have been from 'a' (Nigerian) church, (a theme I've heard from 'some' other Nigerians, and from indigenes of U.S. who've had their own experiences in 'some' American churches also); but that has in no way deterred me from knowing my call in life, neither has it dissuaded me from being a practising Christian, as my faith is in God and not in a church or a pastor.

God has said the truth shall set us free and I'm speaking the truth as I know it and will encourage many more to do the same.

In your opening statement and in your response you've judged me from a defensive stance, but I believe that the ability to speak the truth makes one a better Christian moreso than just bible-toting for human acceptance. In perfect health and with sound mind rather than emotions, I stand and speak the truth and had more people been encouraged to discuss their truths publicly before now, maybe the scandals being exposed now, would not have grown this much.

Even 'Jesus' whom you cited chased those who were turning the church into a den of thieves etc. out rather than letting them smear the image and purpose that the 'Church' truly stands for.

God knows that there have always been and will always be false prophets who use the church as places to exploit people who are seeking to draw closer to Him; and because of the end results where some flock are driven away rather than closer, due to some of their negative experiences is the reason why passages of the bible including Jeremiah 23 are there to deter people who have taken the oath to be shepherds, from acting against the will of God.

The fact that there is forgiveness in recognizing our follies, confessing our sins and seeking true repentance is what makes us better people and a better society.

Lastly to address your loss and attempt to smear the name "Cxsm" with your opening address, I would very much like to let you know that it stands for "Calling Christians for Salvation & Miracles."

Thank you and may God bless you for your contribution to this issue.

Cxsm
4/16/02

admin · Site Admin Joined: 25 May 2007 Posts: 5404

Umm, that was deep CXSM. This sounds very similar to something I was reading a week ago about the Christian Scientists. I don't know much about them but from what I read, it doesn't seem Christ-like to me. Guess it was started sometime this past century. A bunch of Hollywood movie stars swear by it and thus more $$$ into the "congregation". These people swindled so much money from one lady. They claim she needed to be delivered from the demons that were tormenting her. How does someone being taken away from their families going to make it even better. Nope, girlfriend was loaded and they wanted her money to increase the "mission". I forgot to mention that they took her to a "hospital".....she's now dead because they refused to let her get the medical attention that she needed. I don't understand how people fall into these groups. Perhaps vulnerability, depression, loneliness, heck, give anything a try once... I don't understand.

I know this thread is about abuse in churches. I have never been abused in churches by anyone. My family never really let us (children) go anywhere without someone they totally trusted. I feel bad for the child that has died because of someone's greed and lack of humanity. The Dreamer, I want to know your story. Perhaps you can open a window and start the healing process. Put your sword down and let the love in.....

LadyK
12/15/03

admin · Site Admin Joined: 25 May 2007 Posts: 5404

First off, I want to point out that these abuses are quite common throughout black churches and not just Nigerian ones. For instance, Britains second largest black churcj was closed down in December 2002 after allegations of financial irregularities/improprieties. The senior pastor was also arraigned in court earlier this year on charges of rape/indecent assault by 4 separate female members.

The plaintiffs alleged they were manipulated by the pastor, whereas counsel for the defense alleged the women seduced the pastor who was too weak to resist. One of the women was married but separated, another engaged to be married, I am unsure about the status of the others. By the way, the senior pastor was a Jamaican. The jury were unable to reach a conclusive verdict, hence the judge dismissed them, and a retrial will take place in April 2004. Meanwhile, our casanova of a pastor has quickly set up a new church, in rented accomodation that is.

There was another case this time with a Naija pastor who came over from Naija. Set up the church, milked his UK members of their hard earned cash which he used to build a huge church back in his hometown in Naija. He impregnated the wife of one of his associate pastors, had several affairs the wives of some of the other staff, as well as congregation. In fact, there was a case were one guy's wife spent a lot of time sleeping in the church. She would come home, bath, cook for the pastor then take the food back to church where she and the pastor ate it together. All the while, she neglected her own husband and kids at home. Her husband remonstrated with her to no avail !!!

The pastor even had the effrontery to say publicly that the women should obey him rather than their own husbands. !!! Basically, he as pastor, had veto power in his members' relationships or home lives. And of course, the besotted females lapped it up. !!! Anyway, this guy told his congregation he was going on missionary work to South Africa, whereas he returned to Nigeria, to the church he had set up with London congregation's money. The fallout began after that. The London church building was repossessed, it wasn't actually purchased outright, however the senior pastor had lied about this to the congregation ( the same thing occured with the Jamaican pastor's church previously mentioned above). The man had run up debts of tens of thousands of pounds (if not over a hundred grand) - same as the Jamaican pastors church.

Several of the people he had purpotedly healed of AIDS, cancer, etc died after his return to Nigeria. The remaining associate pastors were left to carry the can. The pregnant wife of the above mentioned associate pastor tried to push the pregnancy on her husband. The vigilant man knew his dates, and bluntly told her he had never slept with her during the time of its conception. The couple are now divorced. Some of the other associate pastors are continuing the church in rented premises.

Personally, I feel that black pastors nowadays are mainly on a mission of self aggrandizement. The status, power, wealth and women is a trip they can't resist. They view their congregations as just a bunch of simpletons to be taken advantage of. Of course, some of these pastors may have started out with a pure heart, and a genuine desire to preach the gospel, then got sidetracked along the way. Other pastors have planned the whole thing as an elaborate sting/financial scam right from the get go. I have even heard of muslims getting in on the act, professing public christianity, becoming ministers and milking their followers. In private however, they remain stauch muslims.

In general, these people thrive on the gullibility and/or desperation of their congregations. They can say anything and get away with it. Ask anything of their church members, the members will do it. The female members are usually star struck and in awe of the of the aura of power surrounding these "men of God". These women become little more than groupies, and are quite willing to spread their legs for their "heroes", regardless of their marital status. Sometimes, other members of the church hierarchy get in on the act. These folks also have some of the stardust groupie effect. Associate ministers, choir members and house fellowship leaders also have affairs with other members' spouses/partners. If/when the hapless members discover this, and report it to the chuch authorities, the said authorities treat such cases with levity. Even telling the wronged spouse(s) to more or less go take a hike. The erring church folks are usually pastors favourites, the kind I would describe as "Pastor's Pets, Lapdogs, Mafia clique, untouchables". In the pastors' eyes, they can do no wrong.

Now, these churches being largely "one-man-shows", the senior pastor does not have to answer to a church board, or peer-review-group within a denominational setting. The senior pastor often times arrogates to themselves the sole knowledge of right and wrong and interpretation of scriptures. Anyone questioning them, is labelled as not really saved, a backslider, rebellious etc. The docile/gullible congregation are usually lap it all up. The men scramble for the pastor's approval/recognition, with the females being infatuated. I believe this gullibility and unclean intentions, on the part of the congregations, coupled with the minister's dictatorial/predatory tendencies have brought about this mess in the black church today.

What are the solutions ? Folks feel free to contribute your views on the way forward.

CXSM, I hope you find my prose readable, I have just written my thoughts down freestyle without proper organisation. I trust it is still comprehensible ?

Regards
The Dreamer
12/27/03

admin · Site Admin Joined: 25 May 2007 Posts: 5404

Thanks The Dreamer,

I hope our discussions here will be eyeopeners that will serve to prevent others from becoming victims in similar environments.

Although the thread is about 'Abuse in Nigerian churches' we are all aware that the problem is not peculiar to Nigerian churches, nor is it peculiar to black churches. It also occurs in Caucasian churches, as in the case of the Catholic churches where some young boys were sodomized and some young girls were raped and/or impregnated, as have been exposed so far.

I've personally had the privilege of attending a church where the pastor and qualified staff end up counseling a lot of Caucasians that have been abused in various churches and other circumstances, and to hear some of the stories, one would be amazed at how rampant, but covered up these cases usually are. I myself ended up there after being severely abused at the 1st (and definitely the last) Nigerian church I attended some years back in the U.S. (I'll post the wisdom of my experiences amongst the advice I give below, that others may learn from them.)

A Russian friend that read my posting sent the below posting to me.

admin · Site Admin Joined: 25 May 2007 Posts: 5404

Whew, that was deep. CXSM, I would like to hear about your experiences if they are not too painful for you to share. It's good to talk about this as people know this actually happens, Gen Sani Abacha made some good points too especially about the people setting up their churches for their own gains and not about the work of the Lord. Don't let me get started here.

LadyK
12/27/03

admin · Site Admin Joined: 25 May 2007 Posts: 5404

LadyK,

Since you really want to know, I'll post this prior response to a friend who was sharing her frustration over the rulings regarding the Catholic church abuses, and stated how she her she felt betrayed and no longer wanted to be a part of it.
I presently don't feel like reharshing my experiences because I'm exhausted and need to get going, but my responses below wraps it up in a nutshell. After this I reserve the right to share NO more, as this is NOT about me, but for the benefit of those who may be potential victims. I've already learnt from my experiences, the only good that can be derived from it is the wisdom I've gained from it, most of which I've already detailed in the last posting.

admin · Site Admin Joined: 25 May 2007 Posts: 5404

CXSM, thank you for being open and sharing your experiences with us here at the NIA. I appreciate you candor and willingness to talk about these issues. I will not probe again...

LadyK
12/28/03