Presiding Bishop, Living Faith Church Worldwide, David Oyedepo, on Sunday warned against shooting of youths protesting against police brutality, extrajudicial killings, and extortion in the country.
Speaking during the second service of the church, also known as Winners Chapel, from Canaanland, Otta, Ogun State, which is simultaneously broadcast live on social media platforms, Bishop Oyedepo explained that the youths have good justifications to protest, adding that killing them during the protest “is a sacrilege.”
He also described the government of President Muhammadu Buhari as the most “gruesome” in the history of the country.
According to Oyedepo, “every man has a right, legitimately so, to express his displeasure and pains. Everybody has it. I kept quiet for a while because in 2015 I warned this nation, vehemently, consistently, because I saw the dangers ahead and you can tell.
“The most gruesome season in the life of this nation is in the last five years where lives have no value, wanton killings here and there. Now, they have faced the youths. And because they don’t know who is next, they have a right to say enough is enough.
“Any system that has no value for human lives is irrelevant. If they are killed when they were youths, will they be here today? Now, it would be a sacrilege to shoot the protesters who are not looting, who are not ravaging.
“I have been one of the few voices telling these men and women, until you push a goat to the wall, you will know that goats have teeth to bite.
“I am here to say that the youths have the rights to say no. I wish they said it with me when I was shouting in 2015. I wish they did. They wouldn’t have been in the trouble we are today. So, I have my moral reason to remain quiet. I was grievously attacked.
“But you see, prophets are not opinion leaders. They are the mouthpiece of God. Please, be law abiding and please, respect any legitimate protest. And be sure we don’t procure the unwanted in our lives.”
