Stop Making Provocative Statements, DSS Warns Apostle Suleiman
Apostle Johnson Suleman[/caption]
The Department of State Services has asked the General Overseer, Omega Fire Ministries, Apostle Johnson Suleiman, to stop making statements that are capable of inciting violence.
The DSS made the statement while quizzing the cleric on Monday at its Abuja office, over his alleged sermon asking his congregation to defend themselves from Fulani Herdsmen.
A source who spoke to newsmen on the condition of anonymity said that both parties agreed not to grant interviews to the media on the outcome of the interrogation.
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The source said, “We asked him why he made such a provocative statement and he defended himself.
“He (Suleiman) said he made the statement based on available information that some herdsmen were planning to attack him and that he merely asked his church members to defend him and the church property.
“While we didn’t argue with him, we asked him to note that his followership cuts across the two dominant religions, which are Christianity and Islam.
“We also asked him to note that the Federal Government was doing its best to curtail the activities of the herdsmen and also fight crime generally.
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“He said he knew, but added that the government needed to do much more and that he was not out to cause religious crisis but was merely expressing his anger at the refusal of government to take actions that he said could reasonably convince Nigerians that it (the government) is not partial.
“None of us would speak on the issue. We need to douse tension in the country. That’s our agreement,” the source added.
In order to avoid further controversies, he explained that this was one of the reasons why the DSS asked Suleman to postpone his coming for interrogation from 10am to 8pm.
“We needed to manage the crisis and the crowd. That was one of the reasons we agreed that his coming should be devoid of any razzmatazz and long convoy,” the source added.
