September 30, (THEWILL) – Controversial cleric, Apostle Johnson Suleman, of the Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, has reacted to several sex allegations against him by Nollywood actress, Halima Abubakar.
For months unending, the erstwhile famous actress accused the controversial cleric of reneging on his promise to marry her and said he was behind an undisclosed life-threatening ailment that had plagued her for years.
She alleged that Suleman had sexual affairs with several actresses including Shan George and Iyabo Ojo, a claim the cleric and his handlers ignored.
Abubakar, who began acting in 2001 when she played a minor role in Rejected, revealed that she had an affair with the preacher because he told her he was a divorcee with three children.
On Instagram, she said that her life was in danger and that the cleric should be held responsible for whatever happened to her.
“Pls don’t worry about me. But you can hold Johnson Suleman responsible, just in case. You can’t do anything, though. Nigerians are aware. If anything happens, Johnson, it’s you’’, the 37-year-old actress wrote on Instagram.
Mr Suleman, through his legal representatives, Ephesus Lex Attorneys & Solicitors, had issued the actress a cease-and-desist notice.
A cease-and-desist notice is a cautionary letter sent to an alleged wrongdoer describing the alleged misconduct and demanding a stop to the alleged wrongdoing.
The notice was in response to the actress’ alleged defamation against the pastor and some of her colleagues whom she accused of having sexual affairs with him.
Apostle Suleman’s legal representative, Rodney Adzuanaga, served Abubakar the notice because of her previous defamatory comments about the Apostle.
“The comments which have been in the public space for a while. It recently resurfaced again. On the strength of that, we issued her a cease-and-desist notice”, he said.
He further said that failure to comply will lead to a civil suit against her.
“Whether there will be a public complaint to the police or other law enforcement agencies is not within our purview. We are hoping that she will listen to the voice of reason. If she does not, we will extend our actions to taking a writ against her,” he added.
In the notice signed by Adzuanaga, the cleric accused Abubakar of publishing malicious, defamatory, and demeaning statements about the apostle on several microblog sites.
The letter states that the defamatory statements published by Abubakar on her Instagram handle not only attribute that the Apostle is diabolical, but that he is responsible for whatever medical condition she is suffering.
It says that the statements are false, untrue, malicious, defamatory, baseless, and a tool for blackmailing Apostle Suleman, while reducing him in the eyes of responsible and right-thinking members of the society.
“We, therefore, demand that you cease from further publication of the said defamatory statements or any other statements and or publication intended to injure the reputation of our client”, it stated.
Restraining herself from further comments, it stated that Ms Abubakar must publish a retraction of her earlier statements in five national dailies within three days from Thursday.
They also demanded that she deliver a letter to the Apostle, stating her full assurance and undertaking that she will desist from publishing previous and further defamatory statements against him.
She must also repay him for all costs incurred in defending and protecting his reputation.
Despite the notice, the numerous allegations are still visible on the actress’ Instagram page which boasts 1 million followers.
This is not the first time Suleman will be initiating legal proceedings against his accusers.
In 2018, Nigerian singer, Stephanie Otobo, alleged that he indulged in immoral acts with her. Following the allegations, the Canadian-based Nigerian singer was arrested by the clergyman and spent some days in Kirikiri prison.
Otobo, whom the fiery cleric accused of blackmail, a threat to life, conspiracy, and intent to steal from her in 2017, resumed her damning accusations with what she described as receipts.
The dancehall singer, whose stage name is Stephanie D’ocean, also released a diss track and photo she claimed was the pastor’s ‘genitals’ on a Twitter thread and said he planned to kill her.
Also, a Youtuber, Israel Balogun, was arrested in 2021 for criticising Apostle Suleman.
The police detained Balogun after he posted a video clip of Suleman on YouTube, praying for the audience to receive mysterious money alerts.
He was released after meeting his bail conditions.
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