Smite the shepherd and the sheep will flee”. This biblical injunction
vividly captures the ongoing scenario at the Commonwealth of Zion
Assembly, COZA.
The name COZA became a ‘street anthem’ a few months back following a
shocking confession by one Ese Walter, an ex-member of the church of her
week-long sexual escapade with the senior pastor of the church, Abiodun
Fatoyinbo. However, since then, the pastor has neither come out to refute or
accept the allegation, but claimed that he was still waiting for God’s
order.
While many still doubt the authenticity of the allegations, some
light-hearted members of COZA are gradually leaving the church. Dailypost learnt this during a recent visit to the Lagos branch of the
church, situated in Maryland, Ikeja.
Findings reveal that many aggrieved members and deacons have
left the church since the authority of the church decided to sweep the
matter under the carpet.
When our correspondent inquired from a member why the church looked
so empty on a Sunday, he was told the population of the church was
reducing drastically on weekly bases.
“I think this started not quiet long. Last week was even the worst;
you could see empty seats everywhere,” the fair complexioned female
member said.
Asked if the man of God had come out to deny or admit the allegation,
the member said they’ve warned them never to talk about it anywhere,
until he (Pastor Abiodun) hears from God.
“I think this is one of the reasons many members are leaving. The
church authority had warned us never to talk about the issue until the
man of God speaks, and I think many are beginning to find it hard to
believe.”
His members had since called on the pastor to come clean on the
adultery allegations, but he prefers to remain silent until God says
otherwise.
Our sources revealed that the church stands divided because of the
incident. While many insisted that the pastor should speak out, others
are of the opinion that since God asked him to keep quite, he should
wait until he says otherwise.
A member was quoted as saying, “God can’t ask you to keep quiet in
this matter because his name is at stake too. The church of God is being
accused here and the same God is telling him to keep quiet? That is
immaterial, I can’t accept that.”
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