Wonders, they say, shall never end! A strange rumor regarding a purported prophecy of TB Joshua about a mysterious lion has been circulating around certain areas of Nigeria of late. To enlighten the confused public, The SCOAN has made an official announcement on their website regarding the issue, also being shown on Emmanuel TV. It reads thus:
“Please take note: Emmanuel TV is our means of communicating a message. We were surprised to receive hundreds of phone calls and emails asking us to confirm whether certain prophetic messages were spoken by Prophet TB Joshua or not, that we were forced to come out and address this issue. Two rumors are currently in circulation: one concerning a lion and the other, an earthquake in Delta State. The news has spread so far that even two popular Nigerian newspapers covered the story.
“The rumours now circulating around Delta State, Nigeria concerning prophecies by Prophet TB Joshua are not true. Do not listen to satanic lies. John 8:44 says that satan is the father of lies. Satan has children, he has sons, he has daughters. He has wives, He has uncles, He has aunties, he has nephews, he has nieces, he has nephews, he has cousins he has grandmothers, he has grandfathers. Do not listen to them. Do not let the father of lies deceive you.
“People of Delta State, Nigeria, we love you. God bless you. We are praying for you. Be advised: All messages of prophecy revealed by God through Prophet T.B. Joshua will be broadcast on Emmanuel TV and subsequently posted on our official websites: http://www.emmanuel.tv and http://www.scoan.org.
“Please, do not sit somewhere, hear this or that and come to a hasty conclusion. God requires that we find out the truth from Him first and hold fast to that which is true, as it says in 1 Thessalonians 5:21. ”
Mystery lion In Delta???
The bizarre and fake rumour had really spread far, as reflected in the numerous newspaper articles referred to above:
Schools shut in Effurun over ‘mystery’ lion prophecy
By Emma Amaize
WARRI—The panic in Effurun, Delta State, over an alleged prophecy by a Lagos-based prophet that a lion would go haywire, killing its owner and a number of persons between Tuesday and tomorrow, went to a ridiculous dimension with some private school owners and traders in the affected area shutting down their schools and businesses.
The rumour had also spread to Ughelli, where the prophet was purported to have said that there would be an earthquake, as some residents were said to be packing away.
The proprietor of Christ the King School on Jakpa Road, Effurun, was said to have declared Tuesday and Wednesday as holiday for the pupils on the grounds that a lion was going to be on the loose.
The news is actually everywhere in Warri and Effurun and some people have said they would stay indoors tomorrow for fear of the lion.
Nobody could categorically say that the prophet mentioned any person as the owner of the lion, but the news is that a particular business man and popular politician in Jakpa area is the one that has the resources to train a lion.
Yesterday, the politician, who was rumoured to have fled to India with his children, trekked a long distance from his house to Jakpa road for people to see him and know that it was all a lie.
Some people claimed that the lion was used for money-making ritual for the man and that it was going to escape and kill the man to stop his source of money or kill other people for the man to continue to enjoy his wealth.
SOURCE: The Vanguard
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Mysterious’ lion causes panic in Delta community
Residents of Effurun, headquarters of Uvwie Local Government Area of Delta State, are living in fear, following a report that a killer lion was on the loose.
It was gathered that the panic was sparked off by a prophecy allegedly made by a popular Lagos preacher, Pastor TB Joshua, that the lion would unleash mayhem in the area at the weekend and in the new week.
Although the veracity of the prediction could not be ascertained, the rumour quickly spread, leading to panic and concern among residents, particularly those living around the Praise Centre, Spring Garden Hotel and PB Djebah Estate, among others.
Our correspondent who visited the area at the weekend reported that some residents have already abandoned their homes.
Investigations by our correspondent revealed that the rumour started last week, following the alleged prophecy that a lion would kill several people.
Some residents, who spoke with our reporter, said a prominent politician in the neighbourhood keeps wild animals, including a lion, as pets. They fear that it was the animal that was being referred to in the prediction.
Mr. Chuks Okeke said he was being inundated with calls from family members and friends about the report.
Okeke also confirmed that the rumour was started by a pastor’s prophecy but it was now a major cause of concern for residents.
The Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ekpan Police Station, Mr. Mu’azu Mohammed, said he was not aware of the report.
SOURCE: The Nation
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Residents flee as ‘mystery’ lion causes panic
Residents yesterday continued to flee Aya and other streets around the Praise Centre Area of Effurun, Delta State over fears of a rampaging lion predicted by Lagos preacher, Pastor Temitope Joshua.
No fewer than 50 families have abandoned their homes over concerns that the lion, reportedly being kept by a prominent Urhobo chief in the area, would break loose by 12:00 midnight yesterday.
A visit to some schools, including the Word of Faith Group of Schools, revealed that pupils’ turnout was unusually low.
Also, the issue was a subject of debate at the morning assembly at the New Era Schools, where the authority resolved to monitor the situation closely and advise parents on whether the school would be opened today or not.
Residents have been living in fear over the prophecy allegedly made by Pastor Joshua that the lion would break loose and harm residents.
SOURCE: The Nation
We thank God the truth has been unveiled and the tension in the affected areas is steadily reducing.
To stop hearing rumours, start praying
Church debunks ‘mystery’ lion prophecy
WARRI—THE purported prophecy by a Lagos-based pastor, Temitope Joshua, that a lion would run amok, kill its owner and many other persons in Warri, Delta State, between yesterday and today, has been debunked by a member of the Synagogue Church, Chief Vincent Okudolor.
Many private school owners shut down their schools yesterday in anticipation of the lion but there was none.
Okudolor told Vanguard: “I am surprised that people will believe such rumour and close down their businesses without verifying its authenticity. I called my church headquarters and they told me our pastor, T. B. Joshua, never made any such prophecy.
“The highest authorities in the church said it is not true that there was such a prophecy, and if there was any, it would be relayed on Emmanuel TV and the details would be put on the church’s website. So where are people getting this fake information from?”
Up till yesterday, there was still tension in Warri and Effurun over the mystery lion. As at 10.00 am, some people claimed that security agents have been deployed to Jakpa area of Effurun to shoot dead the lion, which was sighted in the residence of a businessman.
However, Chief Okudulor said, “It’s all lies, there was no prophesy like that by Prophet Joshua, people should stop peddling rumour and maligning the character of other people”.
SOURCE: Vanguard
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Fears over Effurun ‘mystery’ lion allayed
The controversy over the ‘mysterious lion’ in Effurun, Delta State, was laid to rest yesterday when Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi allowed his home to be searched to prove he had no lion or other wild animals.
The former governorship aspirant, who was reported to be keeping the wild cat, and Chairman of Uvwie Local Government Peter Abugewa, dispelled the rumour and advised residents to go about their businesses.
Effurun and other parts of Warri had been paralysed with fear, following reports that a lion allegedly being kept by Gbagi would be let loose.
The rumour, which started late last week, was reportedly as a result of an alleged prophecy by Lagos preacher, Pastor TB Joshua, that the lion would kill several persons, including its owner.
Pastor Joshua denied making such a prophecy.
Gbagi, who with his wife hosted reporters to breakfast at his home yesterday, blamed the rumour on joblessness and advised the state to create jobs for the teeming populace.
He shrugged off the negative publicity occasioned by the rumour, adding that he was unperturbed by the ‘childish’ rumour, which could have been spread by either his political or business enemies, ostensibly to disrupt his progress.
Abugewa condemned the development in its entirety, stressing the report was circulated “to embarrass some persons and to cause instability and disrupt the prevailing peace in the community.”
SOURCE: The Nation
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‘Mystery’ lion: Gbagi dismisses insinuations
WARRI—The man in the centre of the mystery lion rumour that rocked Warri, Delta State, earlier in the week, Olorogun Kenneth Gbagi, has dismissed insinuations of ownership of the lion.
Prophet of the Church of All Nations, Temitope Joshua, was alleged to have prophesied that a lion would run amok in Warri and attack people, and this forced many private school proprietors at Effurun, near Warri, to shut down their schools.
But reacting to the development yesterday, Gbagi, who conducted newsmen round his house, said he had no underground cage where he trained lions, as speculated.
Gbagi, an hotelier in Effurun, said workers of an oil company who had one or two things to do with his hotel panicked also.
“I believe the rumour was borne out of the joblessness of many people,” he said, adding that anybody who had a job to do would not find time to peddle such rumour.”
Though he said he was not training a lion in his house, Gbagi noted that there was no law prohibiting anyone from doing so and wondered why people were not talking about religious inclination, given the fact that he has a church in his compound.
He said he was not interested in joining issues with anybody on the wicked rumour but for the fact that some closed persons called and asked him to “do something about it” because of the negative image it was bringing to him.
The industrialist, who owns the biggest shopping plaza in Delta State, said he was not perturbed, even if it was a strategy by his business competitors to rub mud on his name.
He said if the rumour was the handiwork of politicians, it had only succeeded in making him more popular and told those behind it to hold their gunpowder, saying he would declare him political interest when the time was ripe.
Gbagi called on the government to provide jobs for people, so they could be engaged and do something useful for themselves, rather than engage in rumour peddling, as an idle mind is the Devil’s workshop.
Olorogun Gbagi said his wife and children who were speculated to have been flown to India were with him in Warri. Vanguard saw the wife and children, last Sunday, at the politician’s Woodridge Hotel in Effurun when this reporter went to speak with Gbagi on the raging rumour.
Chairman of Uvwie local government council, Mr. Abugewa, who also spoke to newsmen, said it was a bad, baseless and unfounded rumour, saying he had been trying to trace the source, but to no avail.
Abugewa confirmed that there was confusion in Effurun over the rumour but said the council took steps to douse the ensuing tension , as he went on air to tell the people that there was no iota of truth in it.
SOURCE: Vanguard
The lesson learned from these events is clear: everything we hear and read must be subject to confirmation in the light of God’s Word, because the Bible says that everyone lies to his neighbor (Psalm 12:2).
Love everyone, trust only God!
