Falana urges FG to intervene
By Olawale Olaleye, 11.29.2009

The Nigerian government has been alerted of a plot by some elements of the Ukrainian government to frame a Nigerian pastor in Kyiv, Ukraine, Mr. Sunday Adelaja, for alleged fraud and treason. The charges are part of the plot to edge him out of reckoning in the forthcoming presidential elections in the country. Lawyer to Adelaja, Mr. Femi Falana who has urged the Nigerian government through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to intervene in the matter said the on-going persecution of Adelaja which has gone on for almost a year is as a result of the influence of his Church which is prided as the largest in Europe. Mayor of the city of Kiev, the Ukrainian capital, Leonid Chernovetskiy described the current ordeal of the Nigerian pastor as an indication of political repression that may have been designed to whittle the support base of Adelaja. The Ukrainian Minister of Internal Affairs, Juriy Lutsenko had accused Adelaja of involvement in the fraud that closed down a company in the country- King’s Capital. But Lutsenko’s condemnation of Adelaja has been said to be in gross contravention of the laws of Ukraine which forbids any man to be labeled criminal until he is proven guilty.

Although the Ukrainian President, Victor Yushchenko, has cautioned some government officials to desist from running down people of integrity, his position is believed to be in contrast with the reality on ground. “We would like to remind you that the Embassy of God Church has lately become a stumbling block and striking example of lack of conscientiousness of the government officials which dare to speculate rumours of trustworthy citizens and to violate all possible forms of the law and constitution of Ukraine when they are doing public statements in mass media about Pastor Sunday Adelaja,” he said. Soon after the controversy broke out, King’s Capital, the company at the centre of the controversy had issued an official statement exonerating Adelaja or anyone else from whatever transpired in the company. The statement reads in part: “We declare that rumours about any relation to King Capital, Pastor Sunday Adelaja and Kiev Mayor, Lenoid Chernovetsky are not true. Neither Pastor Sunday nor Mr. Chernovetsky nor anyone else (except for the founders and directors of the business have had direct or indirect participation in the managing of the business. They have never received any income of material or non-material values from the business.” But the clearance issued on Adelaja by the company did not reduce the level of persecution faced by Adelaja and other members of the church. In the letter dated November 5 and addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Falana said “the Head of Police and Interior Affairs Yuriy Lutsenko, a bitter rival of the mayor of Kiev, Leonid Chernovetskiy, a prominent friend and supporter of the Embassy of God and who is widely perceived as a strong contender for the Ukrainian presidency appeared to have found a perfect opportunity to smear the names of both Pastor Sunday and Leonid Chernovetsky. He has with complete recklessness and without any justification whatsoever accused Pastor Sunday of complicity in what he describes as the King’s Capital Fraud.” Falana said all the investigations have found nothing to suggest Adelaja’s involvement in the financial crisis plaguing King’s Capital. “Yet, Head of Police, Lutsenko, has gone to great lengths in the past one year to make these allegations, threats and psychological harassment against him culminating in a restriction on travel outside Ukraine. “Now that it is clear after a year of investigation that Pastor Adelaja was not involved in any way with King Capital and that he did not and could not have diverted its funds to establish a micro finance bank to which he was invited as an honorary board member by its owners who consider him a role model, the Head of Police appears to have developed an even more invidious allegation. He has now accused Pastor Adeleja of treason against Ukraine, ostensibly based on some utterances he is said to have made in some sermons preached in the church. “The purport of those sermons is no more sinister than that he is believed to have spoken of the church taking Ukraine for Christ! Nevertheless the allegation of treason is a very serious one and cannot be taken lightly. Today Pastor Adelaja cannot under current restrictions leave Ukraine and he is the victim of a vicious and deliberate plan to discredit and ultimately destroy him and the Embassy of God purely for the purpose of checking their growing influence and by such means the political chances of those perceived to be his friends. “It is for this reason that several persons and groups familiar with the great social work of Pastor Adelaja with his current travails have actively been bringing the matter to the public domain both physically and electronically,” he said. Falana therefore urged the Nigerian government to take a more prominent, resolute and forceful stand in support of “a Nigerian citizen who has impacted the lives of hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians and has thus greatly advanced the name of our country. The attempt to discredit him preys on the unfortunate characterisation of Nigerians as fraudsters. To allow this will reinforce that notion and further tarnish the Nigerian image. “It is therefore our prayer that strong representation be made to the Ukrainian government expressing the Nigerian government’s concern about the possible violation of Pastor Adelaja’s right in accordance with international human rights norms, especially his rights to freedom of expression, and movement. The representation we believe should firmly demand Pastor Adelaja’s rights under international law and Ukrainian law,” he added.