Pastor held for drug on part-time – Church

Gospel Faith Mission International has disclosed that the 43-year-old pastor Daniel Akintola, who was arrested by the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA), for trafficking heroin, was only on part-time.

Daniel was arrested at the Akanu Ibiam International Airport (AIIA), Enugu while on his way from a while his way back from a ministers’ conference in Uganda.

When arrested, Akitola had told his interrogators that he was presiding over the Olayemi Assembly of the church at Ipaja, Lagos State. But a senior pastor with church said Akintola was not a full pastor with the church.

The senior pastor, who spoke with our correspondent at the church’s headquarters on Lagos- Ibadan Expressway, on condition of anonymity, said he had never seen the name of Akintola on the pay-roll of pastors in the church. This was even as the church’s top hierarchy in a statement urged NDLEA to conduct a proper investigation.

The statement was signed by the church’s Secretary General, Pastor Ezekiel Ojo. But the senior pastor said: “I read about it on the internet, basically your newspaper. But I don’t think we know him here as our full-time pastor. The church is subdivided into regions, the region into districts and the districts into assemblies.

“It is possible his district or assembly had organised a conference without the knowledge of the headquarters. The statement by the authority of the church confirmed that he is not our pastor.”

Akintola was found with 1.978kg of heroin concealed in a false bottom of his luggage. Akintola, who claimed ownership of the bag containing heroin, said that he was returning from a pastor’s conference. In the statement, the church urged the relevant law enforcement agencies handling the case to carry out proper investigation on the matter.

It reads: “The Gospel Faith Mission International is a church that believes, preaches and practices holiness as enunciated in the Bible. “We do not in any way support drug trafficking or other vices for that matter. In fact, recent reports in the media, linking the church to a particular case of drug trafficking is very strange to the mission.”
http://newtelegraphonline.com/pastor-held-for-drug-on-part-time-church/