David Oyedepo Reportedly Banned from UK

From This Is Africa:

The UK Home Office has barred multi-millionaire Nigerian preacher David Oyedepo from entering the United Kingdom, according to sources.

The source is someone “at the Muritala Mohammed International Airport”, who appears to have provided a photograph of a Home Office “Airline Alert” issued by the British Deputy High Commission in Lagos. The text of the image is blurred, but seems that airlines have been warned that they face a fine of £2,000 if they transport Oyedepo to the UK, despite the fact that he holds a “Category C” ten-year visa.

There has been some speculation over whether the document is genuine; however, Oyedepo was known to have been due to travel to his son’s franchise church in Dartford over this weekend, and there is no sign of him on the church’s Twitter feed, @WINNERSLONDON. There are, though, photos of and Tweets about his wife, Faith Oyedepo, who has come to Dartford.

The apparent banning of Oyedepo is something of a surprise: he’s made regular visits to the UK without attracting controversy or adverse attention (indeed, a few years ago I saw his face advertised on the side of a taxi in central London). However, in 2012 he was the subject of a negative profile in the Daily Mail, entitled “Laughing on his private jet – the £93m pastor accused of exploiting British worshippers“. As well as dwelling on the controversy of the “prosperity gospel”, the article noted:

The Mail on Sunday has seen video footage of Mr Oyedepo striking a woman across the face and condemning her to hell after she said she was a ‘witch for Jesus’. He attacked her in a Winners’ Chapel superchurch, believed to be in Nigeria, in front of worshippers. A separate video shows him saying: ‘I slapped a witch here last year!’

I wrote about the incident here. Oyedepo’s ministry is not focused on looking for supposed “witches” in the same way that Helen Ukpabio is obsessed with the subject, but it was nonetheless troubling and indicated that he’s a part of the problem of harmful “witchcraft” accusations.

If the This is Africa report is accurate, I expect Oyedepo is being kept out under a catch-all “not conductive to the public good” provision. The Canadian faith healer Todd Bentley was similarly kept out of the UK in 2012.

8 Responses

  1. […] It appears that the UK Home Office has barred Winners’ Chapel General Overseer, Bishop David Oyedepo from entering the United Kingdom, according to Barthsnotes.com. […]

    • me o. I want every body to know that this is how Europe became developed and we are there queuing up for visas. where does the money and offering from catholic church go? what of Anglican church? what of the money from tourism to Mecca? what about colonialism,where are our resources? Today is African’s turn to develop Africa. According to Malcolm X by any means necessary.
      It happens every where. Ask and read about slavery then u will demand for all the resources from the West. Please we should look at these things intellectually. Go to Ghana slave castle,you will weep; yet no European was banned from Africa.
      Our students are running to UK to school someone is building it in Nigeria. Our leaders are stealing and taking it where? to the west and they don’t return it. They encourage our leaders. Think about it. We need to develop Africa. Racism, nepotism, killing of Africans in diaspora and forcefully defiling and using young Africans as sex objects should concern us the most. Read it up in the news Bro.

      • plain fool,that is what you are

      • U are one of such persons who justify evil deeds. The man Oyedepo is an extortionist with Bible in his hands. He should not only be banned from UK but made to vomit his ill-gotten wealth.

  2. I wish that the churches in Africa have a bit of compassion for souls and start a project to care for poor masses and proof to Government that some simple infrastructures can be put into place to help the poor, not just the occassional crumbs that are offered to people

  3. Is there any more news of this? Nigerian megachurch celebrity pastors have been in the news here in South Africa recently, since a guesthouse of one collapsed, killing several South Africans, and a private jet belonging to another was used to bring money to South Africa for undercover arms purchases by the Nigerian intelligence organisation.

    I too did not think they were among the witch-hunting churches, but rather tended to be agents of modernity.

  4. I don’t know why people always want to see ones downfall. I was got to know God through Bishop David Oyedepo . If I make Heaven, it’s all because of his teaching he impacted in me. Do you know how many souls he’s won for God? I don’t care about material things and am not God to judge anyone and am happy God is with his people . If you like kill yourself over people’s wealth insteAd of striving hard to make yours. Open your eyes guys

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