Dare Babalola
Minister of Power Bayo Adelabu has accused Primate Elijah Ayodele, founder of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church in Lagos, of blackmail and attempting to extort N150 million for “spiritual intercession” to aid his bid for Oyo State governor.
Recall that Adelabu, who previously ran for governor, has announced plans to contest the 2027 Oyo State gubernatorial election.
In a petition dated October 13, 2025, addressed to the DSS director-general and signed by Bolaji Tunji, the minister’s special adviser on strategic communications, Adelabu accused Ayodele of making false prophecies to damage his reputation after rejecting demands for a large sum of money and costly spiritual items.
TheCable reported that in a series of text messages its correspondent sighted, Ayodele asked Adelabu to provide 24 APC flags for prayers and 1,000 saxophones/trumpets, with costs ranging from N50 million for used Nigerian models to N130 million for imported ones from China.
Ayodele set a deadline of April 1 for Adelabu to deliver the items, later extending it to April 4.
“Sir, I don’t do this, but because of the love I have for you,” the primate wrote.
Ayodele reminded Adelabu that he had sent several letters when Adelabu was CBN deputy governor and during his time in Ibadan but received no response. He repeatedly asked to speak with the minister, who cited a pilgrimage, and instructed him to “recite almu nasira 200 times”.
Ayodele emphasized that his actions were guided by a divine mandate, repeatedly prophesying that Adelabu would govern Oyo State.
”I have divine advice for you sir, which can help a lot sir, kindly pick my call,” a part of the text message read.
”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.”
In response, the minister told the cleric that he could not afford the expensive items.
Following the fallout, Ayodele declared in his church that Adelabu had failed and would not become Oyo governor.
In some video clips, Ayodele said Adelabu had made mistakes and his message to the minister was a “warning from God”.
The cleric dared the minister to arrest or sue him.
In the petition to the DSS, Adelabu said he rejected Ayodele’s requests because he believes his ambition is driven by genuine service and not by spiritual manipulation or fetish practices.
The minister asked the DSS to investigate Ayodele and compel him to retract his “false prophecies” and apologise.
“I write to formally draw the attention of the Department of State Services (DSS) to the extortive, deceitful, and inciting activities of one self-acclaimed pastor known as Primate Elijah Ayodele, of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, whose actions have become not only personally distressing to the Honourable Minister of Power, Chief Adebayo Adelabu, but also capable of disturbing public peace and undermining the integrity of the political process in Oyo State,” the petition reads.
“Since his tenure as the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and particularly in the period leading up to his current aspiration to serve as the Governor of Oyo State, this individual had persistently approached him with unsolicited offers of “spiritual intercession” purportedly to guarantee electoral success.
“Under this guise, he had on several occasions demanded huge sums of money and expensive spiritual items, cumulatively amounting to over N150 million (one hundred and fifty million naira), as purported prerequisites for divine favour. The minister had consistently declined his requests, believing that his political ambition is driven by genuine service to the people and not by any spiritual manipulation or fetish practice.
“Following the Honourable Minister’s refusal to accede to his extortionate demands, Primate Ayodele has embarked on a campaign of malicious and false prophecies targeted at discrediting him publicly. He has gone as far as declaring through various media channels that ‘God told him he will not win the election’ and has recently made more provocative and inciting statements suggesting that he would fail because of his association with the ‘Èmi Lòkan’ slogan (“It’s my turn”).
“As a Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, he had previously chosen to ignore his antics to avoid unnecessary public confrontation with a religious figure. However, Primate Ayodele’s continued propagation of these false prophecies, which are evidently retaliatory and malicious in nature, now pose a threat not only to the minister’s reputation but also to public order and confidence in the democratic process.
“I therefore urge the Department of State Services to kindly investigate the activities of the said Pastor Ayodele for extortion, blackmail, and deliberate dissemination of false and inciting information; compel him to retract his false prophecies and issue a formal written apology; and bring him under the force of the law, in accordance with relevant provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and Criminal Code, to deter similar fraudulent religious practices in the future.”
The minister also petitioned the Oyo state commissioner of police over the cleric’s “extortive and inciting activities”.
In a phone conversation with TheCable, Ayodele claimed Adelabu initiated contact, sending emissaries to him out of desperation to win the Oyo governorship.
He said, “I didn’t blackmail him. We didn’t have any transaction. Again, no money was exchanged between us.
“I discussed some terms with him, which he didn’t agree with. I didn’t make any attempt to extort him. I can sell my services for any amount. I can value it at N1 billion as much as I provide the value he wants. It’s nobody’s business. Why did you come to me in the first place if you didn’t believe in me? What are you doing with someone you claim is dishing out fake prophesies? He should say anything he likes.
“I’m big. I’m not poor. I take care of vulnerable people. I’m blessed in the Lord.”
