Celestial Church members fight dirty over N5million donation in Lagos

Eric Patrick 

A leadership crisis has erupted at The Celestial Church of Christ, Acts of Apostle Parish in Ketu, Alapere, Lagos State after a divisive donation of N5 million by the church authority.

It was gathered by Thewatch Africa that the crisis erupted during  last Sunday’s service last week when Muyiwa Oluponna, who claims to be the son of the church’s founder, disrupted the congregation in an attempt to assert himself as the parish shepherd.

It was also gathered that Oluponna seized the microphone from the acting shepherd, Adetayo Adetola, during his sermon.

He claimed an exclusive right to deliver sermons on the second Sunday of every month, further declaring himself the rightful leader of the church.

A video of the incident, which quickly went viral on social media, showed Oluponna and several church members locked in a heated argument, with the service descending into disorder.

The Church has been temporarily shut down for 40 days following a leadership crisis involving a family member of the church’s founder and the parish’s authority.

Meanwhile, the church task force, led by Akinbode Adjovi, enforced the closure to prevent further unrest.  

Adetola, a church member, alleged that Oluponna, a relative of the church founder, disrupted a Sunday service by claiming ownership of a N5million donation meant for church renovations and the construction of a clergy house.  

“That Sunday, our shepherd was not around, and I was in charge of the service. Everything was going smoothly until Oluponna snatched the microphone from me, demanding to speak,” Adetola said.

 

Adetola further said that he allowed Oluponna to speak out of respect for his status as a family member of the church founder.

However, Oluponna declared that the funds belonged to his family and not the church, asserting that the church itself was family property.

He also demanded to be made the parish shepherd and to deliver sermons every second Sunday of the month.

“When I resumed the sermon, he disrupted the service again, snatching another microphone and attempting to preach. At that point, we resisted him,” Adetola added. 

The parish shepherd, Emmanuel Iperepolu, accused Oluponna of repeated threats and confrontational behavior prior to the incident.

  

“Even before the issue of the donation, Oluponna had been coming to the church to threaten and abuse me and others. After learning about the N5 million, he demanded the money for his family, insisting the church belongs to them,” Iperepolu said.

He noted that the matter had been reported to CCC authorities and the police.

CCC Head of Media and Publicity, Kayode Ajala, confirmed the church's temporary closure, citing safety concerns and the need to maintain order.  

“The church is a house of God, but when things escalate and lives are at risk, intervention becomes necessary. We shut down the church to prevent violence while investigations and conflict resolution are ongoing,” Ajala said.

However, Oluponna declined to comment on whether the donation was at the root of the crisis, stating that the matter was between his family and the church.

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