PFN President Wale-Oke Backs Onaiyekan, Says Attack On Catholic Is Attack On Church

The National President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Wale Oke, has thrown his weight behind the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria (CBCN), declaring that any attack on Catholic bishops amounts to an attack on the entire Body of Christ.

Oke, who spoke while ministering at the auditorium of his Sword of the Spirit Ministries in Ibadan on Sunday, endorsed remarks made by Catholic Archbishop Emeritus of Abuja, Cardinal John Onaiyekan, during the recent visit of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria to President Bola Tinubu, where the bishops told the President that “Nigeria is bleeding.”

“Are we not bleeding? Are we not bleeding in Benue? Are we not bleeding in Southern Kaduna? Are we not bleeding in Gwoza, in Borno State? Are we not bleeding in Kwara? Are we not bleeding in Oyo State?” Oke queried, reiterating the Cardinal’s words.

The PFN president challenged the government’s response to the bishops, arguing that speaking truth to power should not be interpreted as a political act but as a moral responsibility.

“Should anybody attack a Catholic bishop for saying that? That is the obvious truth,” he stated.

Oke also rejected attempts to portray the Catholic Bishops as speaking in isolation, stressing the unity of the Christian faith across denominations.

The Church of Jesus Christ is one. There may be many denominations, but we have one faith, one Lord, one baptism. The Church is one. If they attack the Catholic bishops, they are attacking the whole Church,” he declared.

The PFN president also condemned what he described as government silence in the face of escalating violence against Christians, citing killings in Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Benue and Taraba States, as well as recent incursions into Oyo, Kwara and Edo States by violent groups he linked to Islamic extremism.

On the controversy surrounding the proposed amendment to the Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC) Act, which provides for a ₦50,000 fine for bus preachers, Oke called for the provision to be removed completely.

This is despite the Senate’s clarification that the provision had existed since 2007 and was only re-itemised in the proposed amendment.

“We will break that law. Dear Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we will rather obey God than man,” he declared, adding that he has preached in buses since 1975 without causing any accident or distraction.

“If you want to imprison us for preaching the gospel, we are ready. If you want to make all the stadiums in Nigeria prisons, we are ready. We would rather obey God than man,” he said.

The clergyman also called on the National Assembly to address what he described as more fundamental national issues, including Nigeria’s membership of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), which he said the country joined under military rule without the consent of Nigerians.

“The Senate should deal with that and pull Nigeria out of the OIC,” he demanded.

Oke further renewed calls for a review of the 1999 Constitution, alleging that its provisions are skewed in favour of Islam.

“In that Constitution, Islam is mentioned hundreds of times. Christianity is mentioned once. And Christians in Nigeria are a little over 50 per cent of the population,” he argued, insisting that the document was imposed by the “military jackboot” and does not represent the will of Nigerians.

The PFN president also reiterated allegations of Christian genocide, accusing the government of spending billions of naira lobbying against such claims in the United States while killings continue in parts of the country.

He distinguished between what he described as the primary targeting of Christians and the secondary killing of liberal Muslims who oppose extremist ideologies.

“The Senate should invite the Church for a talk. Nigerians are being killed. You are sitting there making evil laws. We will break that law,” he concluded.

Oke, however, said the PFN was simultaneously making private overtures to the Presidency over the issues, although he declined to disclose details of those engagements.

The PFN president’s remarks followed the July 28, 2026 meeting between President Bola Tinubu and Cardinal John Onaiyekan at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

During the meeting, Onaiyekan reportedly told the President that Nigeria was facing severe economic hardship and insecurity. President Tinubu, however, rejected the assessment and defended his administration’s policies as effective.

The exchange subsequently generated public controversy, with presidential aides criticizing the Cardinal for disclosing details of the meeting.