Popular Lagos cleric Primate Elijah Ayodele, leader of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, has strongly denied allegations of defamation leveled against him by the former Governor of Kano State, Dr. Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso. The high-profile political dispute ignited after Kwankwaso, who serves as the running mate to Peter Obi under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) banner, threatened a massive ₦10 billion lawsuit against the prominent prophet over controversial remarks made during a livestreamed church sermon. In a formal legal warning issued through his attorneys, Kwankwaso had claimed that Ayodele’s viral video directly suggested he was acting insincerely in his political alliance with Obi and had been heavily induced with financial payouts to accept the vice-presidential slot. Responding swiftly to the multi-billion naira legal threat via an official statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, Primate Ayodele firmly maintained that he harbored absolutely zero malicious intent to defame, malign, or directly assault the character of the seasoned northern politician. The spiritual leader explicitly clarified that he merely delivered a divine prophecy as received from the throne of God, emphasizing that his spiritual revelations are never influenced by personal grievances, sentiment, or political bias. Ayodele noted that he has never met Senator Kwankwaso physically and therefore has no logical reason to target his personality, adding that he maintains immense respect for the former federal minister’s societal status. According to the cleric, the controversial message was deeply misunderstood, twisted, and heavily misrepresented by desperate individuals who are overly protective of Kwankwaso’s 2027 political career. Expressing disappointment that the situation had escalated to the point of litigation threats, Ayodele stated that if the politician’s camp had humbly sought clarification from him directly rather than rushing to public judgment, the true context of the spiritual warning would have been easily explained. He urged high-profile individuals who feature in his routine global prophecies to always reach out for precise interpretation before jumping to conclusions or issuing aggressive legal ultimatums. Furthermore, Primate Ayodele issued a stern, uncompromising warning to online bloggers, political opponents, and digital mischief-makers who habitually manipulate, trim, and edit his recorded video broadcasts to push selfish, ulterior agendas on social media. He declared such digital manipulation as completely unacceptable and misleading, threatening that strict appropriate actions would be taken against anyone caught altering his prophetic messages to fuel national controversy or score cheap political points.
