Bayo Adelabu, the Minister of Power in Tinubu’s cabinet, has asked the Department of State Services (DSS) to look into Primate Elijah Ayodele, the founder of the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church in Oke Afa, Lagos. He says that Ayodele tried to blackmail and extort N150 million from him by pretending to offer “spiritual intercession” to help him become governor of Oyo State.
Adelabu, who ran for governor in the past and has already said he wants to run for governor of Oyo in 2027, said that Ayodele used false predictions and character assassination after he turned down the cleric’s advances, according to The Nation.
Bolaji Tunji, Adelabu’s Special Adviser on Strategic Communications and Media Relations, signed a petition on October 13, 2025, in which Adelabu said that Ayodele kept asking him for a lot of money and expensive spiritual items. When he refused, Ayodele started spreading false prophecies to ruin his reputation.
The aide said, “Under this guise, he had asked for large sums of money and expensive spiritual items on several occasions, totaling more than N150 million, as supposed requirements for divine favor.”
But he said that the minister had always turned down his pleas because he thought that the minister’s political ambition was based on serving the people and not on spiritual manipulation or fetish practice.
Tunji added that since Adelabu refused to meet his unreasonable demands, Primate Ayodele has started a campaign of fake and nasty prophesies aimed at making him look bad in public.
The letter stressed that the Primate has gone as far as saying through different media that “God told him Adelabu will not win the election.” He has also made more inflammatory and inciting comments lately, saying that he would lose because of his connection to the “Èmi Lòkan” slogan (“It’s my turn”).
The petition says that Adelabu, as a minister, had decided to disregard his actions in the past to avoid having to deal with a religious figure in public.
The letter said that Primate Ayodele’s persistent spread of these bogus prophesies, which are clearly meant to hurt and get back at people, is now a threat not just to the minister’s reputation but also to public order and faith in the democratic process.
The letter said, “I am writing to formally bring to the attention of the Department of State Services (DSS) the extortive, deceitful, and inciting activities of a self-proclaimed pastor known as Primate Elijah Ayodele of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church. These actions have not only personally upset the Honourable Minister of Power, Adebayo Adelabu, but they also have the potential to disrupt public peace and undermine the integrity of the political process in Oyo State.”
“Since he was the Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and especially in the time leading up to his current goal of becoming the Governor of Oyo State, this person had been coming to him with unsolicited offers of “spiritual intercession” that were supposed to ensure his electoral success.”
Tunji went on to say, “I therefore ask the Department of State Services to kindly look into the activities of the said Pastor Ayodele for extortion, blackmail, and spreading false and inflammatory information on purpose; force him to take back his false prophecies and apologize in writing; and bring him under the law, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and Criminal Code, to stop similar fraudulent religious practices in the future.
“We have documents, including recordings and message exchanges, that clearly prove that he kept asking for money and other things while pretending to help people spiritually. We will gladly give these to your office so that you can look into them.
“I hope that the DSS will take care of this issue with the speed and seriousness it deserves, as it is a key institution for national security and public integrity.”
In response to Adelabu’s accusations, Primate Ayodele disputed that he tried to extort N150 million from the Minister of Power because of the minister’s political ambitions. He said that he only talked about the cost of the musical instruments after the minister asked about them.
Ayodele’s media assistant, Osho Oluwatosin, said in a statement that he denied the charges. He said that Adelabu wanted to know more about prices, and Ayodele only told him to send someone from his church to the market to check prices.
He said he informed Adelabu that it would be hard for him to get the governorship ticket, but that he might “seek the mercy of God” by buying the instruments, “not necessarily for my church,” he said.
Ayodele added, “I didn’t ask Bayo Adelabu to bring money for prayers.” I advised him to have someone from his end go to the market and find out how much the trumpet cost. Someone from my end would also follow them. His personal assistant, himself, and the guy he sent to me placed me under so much pressure because he really wanted to be governor.
“He was the one who sent someone to talk to me for him. He even said he would do everything to become the next governor of Oyo State. All I urged him was to acquire the trumpets for his own good.
“I told him they wouldn’t want to give him the governorship ticket, but if he really wants it, he should ask God for mercy by buying the musical instruments for God, not even for my church. But he said he can’t do it.” That’s all.
Ayodele said that he had been talking openly about the problems that Adelabu would face if he became governor for a long time. He also said that his predictions had nothing to do with any argument over the tools.
“I’ve been saying for years that he won’t be Governor of Oyo State, which is why he called me to ask for help.” “I’ve never talked to him before. He sent people to me and asked for my spiritual help,” he stated.
“I don’t make predictions to get rich.” I am already blessed, and my next forecasts after we talked about his goal aren’t because he didn’t buy the musical instrument. It will never be.
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