By Our Correspondent
Founder and General Overseer, Light Way Ministry, Prophet Melody Adjija, has petioned the Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, over an alleged case of extortion, blackmail, and professional misconduct by one CSP Eyoh Aniete of the Nigerian Police Force.
Recall that Pastor Melody was seen in a video circulated online where he was confessing during interrogation by the police that he was involved in performing fake miracles by hiring people to stage manage the fake miracles in his church in Warri.
According to the video, one the accomplice that earlier arrested by the police, said he was hired from Edo State to give fake confirmations of prophecies by the pastor.
But reacting to the alleged video, solicitor to Prophet Melody, Barrister Omems Ogedegbe, in a press conference in Warri said Pastor Melody was forced to make the alleged confession under duress.
In a petition letter made available to Journalists, Ogedegbe explained that there was never a time that the police arrested Prophet Melody, daring the police to produce evidence of his arrest.
According to the petition, a copy of which was sent to the Police Service Commission and the House Committee on Public Petition, National Assembly, House of Senate, the said video surfaced on the internet to divert the attention of Pastor Melody from collecting the sum of three million naira he allegedly gave to CSP Eyoh for a church building project.
“Our client informed our office that his first encounter with CSP Eyoh was sometimes in January, 2019 when he was invited by the said CSP Eyoh to his Ebrumede office demanding for assistant premised on his billboard located at the DSC roundabout, a walkable distance from the Ebrumede Police Station.
“That our client pledged the sum of three million five hundred thousand naira for the construction of a project in the division, specifically to serve as a chapel when the said CSP Eyoh insisted that various police stations have Mosques, but non with a chapel as his predecessor has earlier converted an office to a Mosque prior to his resumption.
“That trouble started after the cash redemption of the pledge by our client he discovered that the funds had been diverted as no chapel was built nor commenced within the division and started making demands,” the letter reads in part.
According to Ogedegbe, CSP Eyoh allegedly invited Prophet Melody to his office in March 2019 to strike a parley over the issue, adding that instead of resolving the matter, CSP Eyoh allegedly pulled out his service pistol and threatened to kill Pastor Melody if he does not do his bidding.
Ogedegbe said after the release of his client from the police station, which he alleged was never documented in the police station, his client received a call from one online comedy show “Mock NewsTV” demanding the sum of five million naira or he will make public a damaging video in his possession.
He said the said video was later made public when his client refused to give the online TV show any money as he had told them that he has nothing to hide.
In a separate letter to CSP Eyoh, by the Solicitor to Prophet Melody, he vowed to institute a civil action against CSP Eyoh and the said Pararan, claiming damages of two million naira only, jointly and severally, if CSP Eyoh fails to produce evidence that their client was arrested by making public the statement they obtained from him and who took him on bail.
They also demanded for a retraction of the scandalous and offending video in the same manner it was disseminated and a public apology.
Contacted, CSP Eyoh told our Correspondent on telephone that the said Pastor Melody was arrested by him, adding that the pastor volunteeraly made the confessional statement without any intimidation.
He said, “As for the money he said the pastor gave me, I am not aware of any three million naira. The pastor should show us evidence of where and how he allegedly gave me the money.”
