Daniel Obinim
The controversial pastor, Daniel Obinim, of the International God’s Way Church is facing imminent arrest.
According to the Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, who has declared ‘war’ on Obinim and his church activities, the maverick pastor could not be arrested last Friday because he allegedly feigned sickness to escape being picked up.
The firebrand MP has vowed to expose and bring down all ‘men of God’ he deems to be fake.
He said Obinim was one such fake pastors and would not rest until the pastor was arrested and prosecuted for breaking the law.
He said on his NET2 TV that he personally went to the Inspector General of Police to report Obinim for alleged fraud, money laundering and using police logo to threaten some of his (Obinim) followers who had bad deals with the pastor and said, subsequently, a court issued a warrant of arrest for Obinim.
More Revelations
“Obinim has gone to hide at a hospital…I can give you the room number where you are hiding…I know you went for a private room. Obinim you cannot run; you better report yourself,” the MP said on Oman FM.
“You are feigning sickness of high blood pressure or heart attack. You said you were a man … these boys you have unleashed …, you know what; there are two people who will make Obinim go to jail. I am never going to stop pursuing him,” he added.
Monitoring Obinim
“I am monitoring you. I know the room you are hiding. Continue to fake high blood pressure; even you, because of Covid-19, you have nothing to do, not to talk of preaching and kicking women in the abdomen,” the MP fired.
“They said they would kill me and say it was Obinim’s curse that made me get involved in get an accident. If Obinim has a curse for me, he would not feign sickness and hide at a clinic or hospital when police are on his heels.
“The police had come for him with a warrant. You think I am joking. I took my time to do my investigations before coming out. If indeed Obinim has power, why is he running away from the law and feigning sickness?
“I beg the CID boss to arrest him. He is putting up a deception. He has been roaming since he got to the hospital; I have been told. He is not sick,” Kennedy said.
Arrest Confusion
Last Friday, there was confusion on whether or not the controversial pastor had been arrested by the Ghana Police Service.
The Police Administration vehemently denied that Obinim, who claimed to be an angel and had been frequenting heaven, was in their custody.
Criminal Investigations Department (CID) sources told DAILY GUIDE that Obinim had not been arrested and other checks at the Greater Accra Regional Command also said the controversial pastor was not in its custody.
Checks at the Police Hospital, where Obinim is said to have been taken after ‘falling’ sick, also proved to be false.
Social Media Blitz
Rumours about Obinim’s arrest started on Thursday night when social media was replete with news about the incident.
According to Mr. Agyapong, a warrant has been issued to get Obinim arrested but when the police tracked him down, the pastor feigned sickness and went into hiding at a private health facility in Accra.
He had said Obinim had claimed to have blood pressure and was hiding at the second floor of the hospital located at East Legon, Accra.
Obinim Rebuttal
In the ensuing heat, one Richard Jackson, who claims to be the special aide to the controversial pastor, rebutted the arrest rumours and said Obinim had since left the hospital and was cooling off in his house.
He said Obinim had not been arrested by the police as widely speculated, saying “there are news articles circulating on social media but all of them are untrue.”
“The Founder and General Overseer of IGWC, Bishop Daniel Obinim, popularly referred to as Angel Obinim, due to stress and all the torment of this hard time was advised by his medical team to visit the hospital for proper checkup and medical treatment. Under no circumstance should anyone lie to you that Angel Obinim has been rushed to the hospital (sic).”
He said, “I urged the public to disregard all such rumours as there is no truth in it that he has being arrested by Ghana police.”
Police Entry
The aide admitted that “Angel Obinim was on the church premises yesterday when some police officers went to him with an invitation letter from the CID to kindly report to the station based on a case filed against him by someone.”
He said, “His lawyers then represented him at the station because he was booked for a medical review same day. As at the time of writing this today (Friday), Angel Obinim was in the house doing fine, he hasn’t been arrested nor kept behind bars, so throw away that fake news making rounds (sic).”
The aide added, “Also note that if one is arrested or invited by the police, that doesn’t mean the person is guilty, one is proven guilty only at a court of competent jurisdiction,” saying, “Some blogger claimed that stories bearing the name of Bishop Obinim are hot news, so they use it as means of generating income on social media. So don’t believe everything that is splashed on social media (sic).”
By Ernest Kofi Adu