Sanity may have finally prevailed at a Lagos-based Church where the self-proclaimed General Overseer reportedly chased his members out of the church midway into service and locked them out of the premises.
It had been a case of members of the church and their leader, running amok, and getting at one another’s throats, worshipping under same roof for years now.
Media space had been awash recently how at The Anointed Church of Christ Aladura at Rafiu Amose Street, Abaranje area of Lagos State, the leader and supposed General Overseer reportedly chased members of the church out during a Sunday worship service. But having endured a ‘miserable’ period in the hands of their church leader, the scenario now becomes a case of the hunter becoming the hunted. The journey to freedom in the hands of their ‘tormentor’ did not come with ease though.
Recently, the story went viral on social media how the clergyman forcefully stopped proceedings when the church was midway into a Sunday service while he chased all worshippers out of the vast complex, locked all doors that entered the church auditorium and also bolted the gates leading to the church premises. So, What initially appeared to be an internal church disagreement has since escalated into a full-scale institutional conflict involving allegations of constitutional breaches, abuse of authority, and possible violations of Nigeria’s corporate governance laws.
Hell was recently let loose at the Ikotun branch of The Anointed Church of Christ Aladura, as the self-proclaimed General Overseer reportedly chased out members of his church, shutting the doors of the church behind them. It was gathered that there had been internal strife in the church for over a decade now and the crisis came to a head recently when the self-acclaimed General Overseer, Rev (Dr.) Ichekpa David Idoko, mid into a Sunday worship service, threw caution to the wind and chased out all worshippers of his church.
“We were in the middle of worship when everything suddenly stopped,” one member recounted. “Before we understood what was happening, we were outside, and the doors had been locked against us. It was humiliating.”
Another worshipper described the experience in stark terms: “A place we considered sacred became a place of rejection in minutes. It was something we never imagined could happen.”
The incident would later go viral and generated wide publicity on social media. The ugly incident occurred at the Ikotun branch of The Anointed Church of Christ Aladura.
The origin of the crisis dates back to 2019 following the passing of the church’s spiritual head, His Eminence, Rt. Rev. (Dr.) S. A. Aiyekare JPIL, Baba Aladura ACCA (Worldwide). Aiyekare, who succeeded the founder, Her Grace, Rev. Mother R. A. Bellois JP, was widely regarded as a stabilising force within the church. Over several decades, he built a reputation as a devoted, people-oriented leader and a prolific church planter under whose leadership the ministry expanded significantly
It was gathered that trouble with elders of the church and Rev. Idoko started shortly after the demise of Baba Aladura Aiyekare as his deputy, Rev. Idoko, called a meeting where he demanded that he be installed as Baba Aladura – substantive head of the church – with a publication in the church’s Conference manual where he (Rev. Idoko) allegedly displayed his picture as General Overseer of the Church, a move said to be contrary to the norm of the Church and against the church’s Constitutional provision.
In a chat, a senior member of the Church and Minister of Ikorodu branch of the church, Snr. Supt Apostle Abiodun Badiru, claimed that the step taken by Rev. Idoko was not sanctioned by the Board of Trustees of the Church and Council of Elders. Among other reasons, Elder Badiru said that succession to the Office of General Overseer was usually done after a considerable period of mourning of the former occupier of that office, which Elder Idoko did not follow.
Speaking with our reporter, Elder Badiru said, “After the vigil on one Saturday evening, a meeting was held which comprises some elders of the church. I went to Maba for Mega Praise Concert that night. So, I was not at the meeting. but I was later told that they discussed that they wanted to appoint a new General Overseer of our church. According to reports and the Minutes of the Meeting given to me later, I saw that Apostle Segun Oladipo asserted that the Constitution of the church should be followed on the appointment of a new G.O.
“There, Elder Idoko said that the Constitution was being followed. And he announced that Elders Redemi and Raimi would be his two Assistants.
When I got to church the following Sunday, he (Idoko) called me aside and told me that he had been appointed GO and that that was for my information.”
Elder Badiru also explained that long before the demise of the spiritual head of the church (Baba Aladura Aiyekare), the Church had commenced the process of reviewing its Constitution.
According to multiple senior members, The Very Rev. Idoko, who served as a deputy General Overseer, moved swiftly to assume the position of General Overseer. This, they claimed, was done without the formal ratification of the Board of Trustees or the Council of Ministers, and in disregard of established constitutional provisions guiding succession.
Elder Badiru continued, “Before the death of Baba Aiyekare, the Church came up with the idea to review the Constitution of the Church. So, while we were on that, we got a letter from State CID Panti summoning us there. The letter was dated 5 October, 2020. That we should appear before an Investigation Department for 13 October, 2020 by Rev. I. D. Idoko. When we got there, he accused us of fraud and signature falsification in our certificate of Incorporation. Though Baba Idoko, Redemi, Sola, Mama Ogunlesi were part of Board Members.
Badiru continued, “Before we got to Panti all we saw was that the original Constitution was not being followed by Baba Idoko. We called a meeting telling him to abide by the Constitution of the church, but he declined. One of our leaders, Apostle Obasanjo also observed that Baba Idoko was going contrary to the Church’s Constitution. He wrote him a letter dated 18 February, 2020. All church elders were copied. Baba Idoko got the letter but he shunned the elder’s advise. Our former General Secretary, Elder Patrick Redemi, circulated a memo that Baba Idoko was not running the church as laid down in the Constitution. Redemi’s memo was that Baba Idoko did not recognise the Central Executive Council (CEC) roles and the relationship between the CEC and the Board of Trustees as laid down on the Constitution. We all ministers of the Church called a meeting urging him to follow the Constitution. We sent him a letter dated 18 May 2020. Still he declined to take to our advise.
Elder Badiru recalled that at the early stage of the crisis, some elders of the Cherubim & Seraphim Unification (under which the church operates) did their best to intervene in the matter but Rev. Idoko rejected their wise counsels. He mentioned elders like Elder Akin Owolabi and Rev. Mother Abimbola Esther Ajayi. He maintained that at different occasions, these two leading figures in the Unification Church urged Rev. Idoko to allow the matter be resolved amicably by adhering to the letters of the Church’s Constitution, but the latter declined. “Many elders of the Unification Church intervened including Esther Ajayi and Baba Akin Owolabi, and they all urged everyone to allow peace to reign. Mama AJayi advised him that he’s advanced in age and he should allow the young members run the church while he sat at the back to monitor. Even at Panti, they listened to us and urged us to go back home draft our new Constitution and allow the status quo be maintained.
“When we got back home, Baba Idoko sacked the CEC singlehandedly, sacked the Committee of the Ministers. He would not allow the General Secretary to call any CEC Ministers Meeting. He scrapped all the committees of the church. He called meetings at his will and once he did not call you to attend you can not attend. The Treasurer and Financial Secretary of the Church who were duly elected during Baba Aiyekare was alive, were scrapped. He has since been acting as General Secretary. The previous Constitution reviews had it that 2/3 of members of the church can remove a GO but his own constitutions says he can only be removed by the majority of BoT members which he is the only one there.”
Badiru continued, “Once you say anything against him in position of advice, he would remove you from your church office and place your junior above you. That’s how he’s been operating. He went to Ikotun Branch of the church and removed Apostle Segun Oladipupo as Minister-in-Charge and pronounced himself as Minister-in-Charge and also the General Overseer of the larger church.
“The 1982 Constitution with which the Founder incorporated the church was altered. The one he wrote said all Board of Trustees are not recognised that he is the only one that is a member of BoT. His Constitution favoured him alone. He said as the only recognised BoT member, that he can only be removed by 2/3 members of the BoT and he’s the only BoT member.
Another ‘sin’ of Elder Idoko before the church was that “Sometime ago, his wife passed away and during the burial service there was no single sign that Elder Idoko attended our church. He used people of other Christian denomination to perform the burial of his wife. Some members of our church attended and they got copies of the burial pamphlet which bore no recognition of our church there. We gave the woman’s children our widow’s mite during the period. He did not recognise other BoT members,” said Elder Badiru.
Elder Badiru was not done yet. he said that, “Again we received a letter from Yusuf, legal adviser to Baba Idoko to a reconciliation meeting in his chambers. The meeting was scheduled for three days either 23, 24, 30 December, 2025 that we should be there for the meeting, The elders of the church met and agreed to have a meeting, but now at our church headquarters for we picked 5 & 10th February 2026. We replied him. His lawyer also replied us and scheduled a meeting this time at our lawyer’s chamber for 8 & 14 January 2026. But we insisted that the matter is a church issue and should hold at our church headquarters.
A legal practitioner familiar with nonprofit governance explained: “Once a church is incorporated, it becomes a legal entity. No individual can claim absolute control over its governance or assets. Authority must derive from the constitution and the trustees acting collectively.”
Under CAC regulations, any amendment to a church’s constitution must follow due process and be formally registered. Similarly, all church properties are held in trust for the organization and cannot be claimed as personal assets.
“While this was on, Apostle Segun Oladipupo reportedly received a letter, again, from another lawyer that he had to quit the Ikotun branch premises within seven days. That was not discussed anywhere and Idoko claimed he is the owner of the premises. But we replied the lawyer that the Ikotun property was not for Elder Idoko.”
However, the matter got to a head on Sunday, January 18, 2026, when Rev. Idoko reportedly chased out worshippers of the Ikotun Branch of the church, mid-service and shut the doors of the church and gates into the premises. Rev. Idoko’s action was viral online at the time. Elder Badiru claimed that all landed properties of the church were purchased in the name of The Anointed Church of Christ Aladura.
So, the church remained under locks ever since, until Tuesday, February 24, 2026 when, it was gathered, Rev. Idoko reported the matter at the Citizens Medication Unit at Ikotun in Igando/Ikotun Local Council Development Area of the state ostensibly to finally nailed the coffin against hi supposed church members. The church members were thus summoned to the office of the Mediators where the mater was heard. At the end of the day, the mediators pointedly informed Elder Idoko that he had no right to chase members out of the church premises. The mediators also directed the embattled church members to go take possession of the church premises to which they headed for the Church and forcefully gained entry to the vast compound.
While the beleaguered members were still confused as what would happen, the matter was reported at the Ikotun Police Station where the church leader and members shuttled a number of times. It was gathered that law enforcement agents urged both parties to let peace reign but the Elder would bit budge.
Speaking with our reporter, a female senior member of the church, Mama Odunaike, said, “Baba Idoko believes in himself that, he is the only person that has money in the ACCA Worldwide, and that he knows top officials in the Police force. He threatened all members with court action. He is not competent to be a good leader. He believes he is the best”.
According to Most Senior Apostle Sunny Idogbo, he said “These are part of the extract of conversations between me and Mr. I. D . Idoko. Because I challenged him over his actions that he put on on the Sunday 18/01/2026, he told me that my days in Anointed Church were numbered. He did it to me as the General Secretary of the church and also many others. He does not have a spirit of true leadership. When you are to advise him, he sees you as an enemy. He threatens, intimidates and bullies the members each time he feels. He has never portrayed himself as a father figure , never there for the church. He wants all to come caps in hands to him. He claims to be the richest among the members of the church. As the General Secretary to the church, I think it is time for the tyrant, with due respect, to leave the church for those who want to worship the God of men and not the man of gods. He has caused the church more retrogression than growth right from the time he imposed himself as the GO of the church.
Baba’s atrocities to the church are just innumerable, countless!
What do you call your actions of Sunday morning while the service was ongoing that you had to chase away all worshippers and you went ahead to lock up the church? At whose instruction did you carry out that action of yours sir?”
A living son of the founder of the church, Sola Bellois, “Baba idoko lied that Mama Bellois gave her the Church to manage and that’s why he’s doing all that he is doing in the church. He also insulted deceased family members of my mother, Mama R.A Bellois including my father and his sister of blessed memories. That it was because of their unseriousness that made Mama to pick him as a trustee member. He announced my removal as a member of the BoT.
According to Segun Oladipo, a member of the Ikotun branch of the Church, “The Very Reverend Dr. Ichekpa David Idoko, forced himself to hold unto the position of the GO after the demise of our then GO, The Very Rev’d S.A Aiyekare JP in 2019. In that year, The Anointed church of Christ Aladura W/Wide lost everything into crisis which made him took all the church elders to Panti. He condemned the Constitution that made him the Assistant GO of the church. He is a dictator and has no respect for the church members. He went as far telling the members that will lock the elders up if they did not allow him to lead the church. H e is a Narcissist”.
According to The Very Rev Francis Redemi, “The Very Rev. I. D. Idoko always acts as dictator and owner of the Church, by sending WhatsApp messages to remove and install church officers, without the CEC or Council approval, which is against the constitution. He demonstrates his bitter hatred, when he position himself as the landlord of our Ikotun branch and directed a lawyer to write a seven days quit notice to Sp Ap. Sugun Ladipo, who lost his father seven days earlier”.
Luck, however, found the embattled members of the church, recently, as Elder Idoko reportedly dragged them before the Citizen Mediation Bureau at Ikotun Local Council Development Area, on Tuesday, February 24, 2026. Initially, the Bureau urged both parties to go home and resolve all matters amicably. So, on Sunday March 8, 2026, some elders of the church, both male and female, reportedly had a meeting with their supposed principal, Elder Idoko, hoping to have all matters resolved as directed at the Mediation Centre. It was gathered that he refused to budge in his position. This made the two parties to visit the Mediation Centre again at another appointed date and the matter remain unresolved.
It was gathered that after days of mediation, with pleas from all mediators at the Centre, the clergyman reportedly refused bluntly to yield to their advise and at the end of the day, it was ruled that the members should go take over their church, while Elder Idoko was urged not to interfere in affairs of the church forthwith. So, on Tuesday, February 24, 2026, many elders of the church stormed the Rafiu Amose Street of the locked church and took possession of it, sealing the make shift pass way separating Elder Idoko’s residence from the Church compound. Worship in the church has since resumed.
Our reporter’s attempt to talk to Elder Idoko was abortive as his phone lines were not reachable when contacted.
