Barely months after being charged with defamation in a Lagos State High Court, Stephanie Otobo, has confessed powerful politicians and pastors paid her to rubbish Johnson Suleman, the senior pastor of Omega Fire Ministries.
In a video clip shared by the church, Ms. Otobo, who earlier claimed to be mistress to the fiery Delta pastor, begged for forgiveness and recanted everything she said about Mr. Suleman.
Controversy broke out last year when Ms. Otobo came out to accuse Mr. Suleman of impregnating and breaching a promise to marry her.
The Canada-based lady had at a press conference in Lagos, flanked by Festus Keyamo on March 9, 2017said she had an affair with the cleric which involved a lot of sex.
She told a stunned audience of how she allegedly spent time with Mr. Suleman in Naples, New York, and Lagos.
“Most of the times we spent together, we had sex,” Ms. Otobo told journalists.
“I refused to have a threesome with him because I’m not a lesbian and I don’t like women touching me. He told me he did that with all his past girlfriends, I was the only one (who refused), that it’s very rude that I can do that to him.”
Ms. Otobo’s said her relationship with Mr. Suleman ended after the preacher began to insist he wanted a sexual activity that involved a threesome.
But in the latest video, she said some “very strong and powerful politicians and pastors,” deceived her into defaming Mr. Suleman.
Ms. Otobo, who claimed she came into the country from Canada with the intention to push her musical career, said she succumbed to the manipulation of the politicians and pastors because she was told it would help her career.
“They paid me a lot of money,” she said as she knelt down crying in front of worshippers in the church’s main auditorium.
It was Mr. Suleman’s wife, Lizzy, who officiated at the service and who prayed for God to forgive and restore the broken woman, who caused her family and church so much embarrassment and pain.
A comment on the video posted on the Omega Fire Ministries’ Facebook page, reads, “The only offence he committed was to have intervened in the numerous heinous crimes against the Church of Christ around the nation and became a voice for the Gospel.
“What followed was a well-doctored drama to attack the reputation of this Golden Voice and seemingly reduce the volume of his voice even as more evils were planned against the Church.
“After all the evil efforts, the secret agendas, the heavily funded set up and the unrelenting pursuits to snare an innocent man, they were futile. The master planner has finally vindicated his church and his servant. This is not only a victory for God’s Servant; it is a victory for the Body of Christ & The Church in Nigeria,” the post read.
Lagos lawyer, Festus Keyamo, had petitioned the Inspector General of Police in a letter dated March 4, 2017, claiming Ms. Otobo began a romantic relationship with Mr. Suleiman in Canada in 2015.
The letter also alleged that the pastor told her he was divorced from his wife and proposed to her, before meeting with her family for introduction declaring his intention to marry her.
The chamber had also written to the Lagos State Police Commissioner in February 2017, accusing Mr. Suleman of illegal procurement of abortion, a threat to life, and attempted murder against Ms. Otobo.
However, in November 2017 Mr. Suleman through his lawyers filed a suit against the Ms. Otobo at the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja.
The hearing was stalled following Ms. Otobo’s absence in court and the presiding judge, Adedayo Oyebanji, adjourned the matter until February 7.
The NEXT EDITION could not, however, speak with Ms. Otobo and Mr. Keyamo on the content of the video.