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Dec
Dec
POWER MINISTER, ADELABU ACCUSES CLERIC AYODELE OF BLACKMAIL AND EXTORTION IN GOVERNORSHIP PROPHECY SCHEME
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CapitalTimesNews / 2 months
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- 2 min read
An alleged scheme to defraud the Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, has backfired, leading to a formal petition to the Department of State Services (DSS). The minister, a potential aspirant in the 2027 Oyo governorship race, has accused Primate Elijah Ayodele, founder and head of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church in Lagos, of blackmail and attempting to extort N150 million from him for spiritual intercession to become governor. According to an exclusive report, Adelabu, a former governorship candidate, submitted a petition dated October 13, 2025. He accuses Ayodele of making false prophecies intended to malign his reputation after he rebuffed the cleric’s demands for a huge sum of money and expensive spiritual items. The petition was signed by Bolaji Tunji, the minister’s special adviser on strategic communications and media relations. A series of text messages revealed details of the alleged extortion. The cleric asked the minister to provide 24 APC flags for prayers. He also demanded 1,000 pieces of saxophones or trumpets, with the least expensive Nigerian fairly-used grade costing a total of N50 million and imported grade-one from China totaling N130 million. Ayodele asked Adelabu to bring the items by April 1, later extending the deadline to April 4. “Sir, I don’t do this, but because of the love I have for you,” the primate wrote in one message. The cleric informed the minister that he had sent him several letters when he was CBN deputy governor and later to his office in Ibadan, but received no reply. After repeated requests for a call, during which the minister said he was on pilgrimage, Ayodele instructed him to “recite almu nasira 200 times.” Ayodele stated that his actions were based on instructions from God and repeatedly told the minister he would rule Oyo state. One text message read, “I have divine advice for you sir, which can help a lot sir, kindly pick my call.” Another stated, “Do vigil and the angel of God is coming to hear request by 1am…I don’t want you to lose the coming election. That is why I’m following the instructions.” The minister has denied all allegations of involvement with the cleric’s demands, framing the interaction as an attempted extortion and blackmail plot following his refusal to pay.