The Commonwealth of God Assembly, COZA, pastor is yet to officially react to the allegation.
Traffic around luxury Thisday Dome where Commonwealth of God Assembly, (COZA) holds services was unusually light Sunday morning.
The
long fleet of expensive cars parked by congregants had been replaced by
few cars and a handful of loitering congregants. It looked as if life
had been scrapped from the hitherto bustling church.
This was
not unexpected.
In
the last few days, the church’s Senior Pastor has been entangled in an
allegation of infidelity with a former member of the church that has
snowballed into a huge sexual scandal that many say might destabilize
the church.
Barely 48 hours after a former female congregant and worker of the
COZA, Ese Walter, confessed to having had an affair with the church’s
Senior Pastor, Biodun Fatoyinbo, another former female member has come
out with claims of her alleged encounter with the pastor in a hotel in
Lagos.
Ms. Walter had sent social media alight after she
alleged in a blog post that she had a week-long sexual relationship with
the pastor during his London visit.
According to Ms. Walter,
after arranging for a taxi to pick up Mr. Fatoyinbo from the airport
during his visit to London, the pastor invited her to his hotel and
offered her alcohol.
“You don’t have to be shy Ese, even if it’s alcohol, feel free and order what you want,” she claimed the pastor said.
Subsequently,
she said, Mr. Fatoyinbo invited her to sit on his laps. When she
hesitated, she claimed the pastor told her to relax saying: “feel free
Ese.”
According to her, they kissed and soon were embroiled in a
week-long amorous affair that left Ms. Walter feeling abused and
manipulated.
Ese Waltert.
Read Ese's story, which she shared on her blog,
Ms. Walter alleged that Mr. Fatoyinbo had dismissed
the guilt she had, saying: “I will teach you a level of grace that you
don’t understand.”
Ms. Walter, who admitted that the relationship
was consensual, however said she felt “abused and manipulated” by Mr.
Fatoyinbo and the fleeting manner the church’s leadership handled the
affair after she raised it with another pastor in the church.
She said she went public with the story when she could no longer withstand the “psychological abuse.”
“I
made an effort to reach out to him because I realized the right thing
to do was talk to an elder in the church and seek some sort of remedy to
a wrong I believed had been done me. Instead, Pastor Flo said Pastor
Biodun had confessed to him and they had ‘talked’ about it and somehow
that was supposed to be OK. He asked what it was I wanted coming to talk
to him about it when I did, I told him I realized what happened between
Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo and I was wrong and not just that I felt abused
and manipulated. I also said I thought it was wrong for Pastor Biodun
to go on preaching without taking time to deal with his personal
character flaws. I said I thought he was danger to all the young women
that attended the church.”
In a narration that is close to that
described by Ms. Walter, Franca (the second female) has described how
close she came to being led into a sexual relationship with the
embattled pastor. Franca claimed the pastor, under the pretext of doing
some computer based work for him, lured her into Wheatbaker Hotel,
Lagos.
According to Franca, when she resisted Mr. Fatoyinbo’s
advances, he rebuked her for acting like a “small illiterate uneducated
girl.” She claimed in order to convince her to sleep with him Mr.
Fatoyinbo had described his wife as a “postcard…pretty on the outside
but flat and empty upstairs. He said sex with her was like having sex
with a cold dead fish.”
She claimed Mr. Fatoyinbo, whom she
described as “randy goat with a deflated erection”, left her after she
threatened to accuse him of rape.
Franca claims she has recordings
and pictures taken from the hotel as proof of the encounter and
threatens to publish it if the Pastor denies the incident.
An
alleged incorrigible philanderer, Mr. Fatoyinbo is no stranger to
alleged sexual waywardness. From the inception of the church in Ilorin,
the pastor, who the church’s official website describes as “a preacher
with uncommon prophetic insight into the word” has been trailed by
allegations after allegations of unbridled sexual advances to female
congregants.
In one case in Ilorin, it was alleged that he had
sexual relationship with two sisters to the point of impregnating one of
them. Nothing came out this allegation.
In another of such allegation Mr Fatoyinbo, was accused of having an amorous relationship with a married woman.
The
pastor who has also been described as a “power dresser” for his love of
smart and designer outfits runs the Abuja headquarters of COZA with his
wife Modele.
Its congregants are mostly young, educated, hip, and stylishly dressed. It also runs live webcasts of its services.
Online Scandal
The
allegation has spiralled into a massive scandal on social media. While
some have called for caution asking people to wait for Mr. Fatoyinbo’s
version of the alleged affair, others have dismissed Ms. Walter as loose
and attention-seeking.
Some others have taking to satirising the
entire affair. Innuendoes such as “www.anotherlevelofgrace.co.za,”
“Henny and coke” and “come and sit on my lap” among the most popular.
A Facebook page “Stop This Abuse in the Name of God Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo” already has over a hundred likes.
Mr.
Fatoyinbo is yet to officially respond to the allegation, but the
Twitter timeline of some congregants at the church suggest he gave a
peripheral mention of the scandal during service.
“I’m sure you
read a lot about me on twitter and social networks. You can’t imagine
how many people have called me,” tweeted Seun Salami (@SeunWrites)
quoting the pastor.
The pastor however concluded his sermon by saying: “when we asked God, God said be quiet. Thank you!”
It is hard to tell whether that was an indication that he will never respond to the allegation.
About Pastor Biodun:-
From almost all accounts, Abiodun Fatoyinbo is an
amazing guy. This is what makes it all the more difficult to believe the
recent allegations of sexual impropriety leveled against him by Ese
Walter, a former member of his church.
The revelations have led to a lot of inquisitions
and widespread curiosity and many people want to know who Pastor ‘Biodun
Fatoyinbo really is and why news of his alleged affair has caused
disbelief and outrage among the bulk of the populace.
‘Biodun Fatoyinbo started his university education
at the University of Ilorin and finished up at the University of Benin.
He is married to Modele Fatoyinbo and they have 3 lovely children; 2
girls and a boy.
Fatoyinbo established the first branch of
the General Overseer of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly on the 14th of
February 1999 in Ilorin, Kwara State, and can now boast of 2 other
branches in Lagos and Abuja. He left Ilorin to head the newly
established Abuja branch about 3 years ago.
Pastor Biodun has been described as an amazing
preacher with a depth of insight, a good father to all his children,
spiritual and physical, and a great husband to his wife, Pastor Modele.
Many visitors to his church describe the charisma
of the man that is ‘Biodun Fatoyinbo and this has led to the growth of
his congregation which now numbers in the thousands.
It is all these thousands and many more that have
been left in shock by allegations of sexual misconduct that the upward
moving pastor now finds himself embroiled in. The country is still
reeling from the news and mixed reactions which has trailed these
allegations among which is this Facebook post:
“It is imperative for everyone who has got a mother, a sister, a girl child and even a boy child to stand up for them. If indeed Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo abused Ms. Walter, let him simply own up to it and be ready to answer for it.”
The post was published on a newly created Facebook page titled, “Stop This Abuse in the Name of God Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo” and it mirrors the thoughts of many people who are waiting for pastor Fatoyinbo’s side of the story.
See some of his previous tweets below will give you an insight into
the mind of a man who knows the importance of the family unit and is
keenly aware of his religious calling.
So, where did it all go wrong? That is, if something indeed went wrong.
The full meaning of GOD is "Grace On Duty". There is a GOD factor that can make a difference in everything you do.
— Biodun Fatoyinbo (@PastorBiodun) August 13, 2012
Heb 12:2(Amp) looking away from ALL that distracts to Jesus. Refuse to be distracted by d schemes of d enemy. Keep your eyes on Jesus.
— Biodun Fatoyinbo (@PastorBiodun) July 27, 2012
Feel So great! Just dropped my kids off in school. They were so excited! They made me promise I would pick them up when they close.
— Biodun Fatoyinbo (@PastorBiodun) May 25, 2011
The
best gift you can give to yourself today is to be at peace with
yourself. Keep a good conscience. Say NO to what your heart condemns.
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