The Continental Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) for South West Nigeria and the Middle East, Pastor Johnson Odesola, has challenged Reverend Mosy Madugba to provide verifiable evidence for his allegation that former President Olusegun Obasanjo allocated oil wells to prominent Nigerian pastors, including RCCG General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye.

Odesola described the allegation as serious and potentially damaging, insisting that it should not be treated as established fact without documentary evidence to substantiate it.

Madugba, founder and president of the Ministers’ Prayer Network, had alleged in a sermon circulating on social media that Obasanjo allocated oil wells to Adeboye, Living Faith Church founder, Bishop David Oyedepo, and Deeper Christian Life Ministry General Superintendent, Pastor William Kumuyi.

He reportedly linked the alleged oil interests to the establishment of universities, hospitals and schools by the clerics, as well as the acquisition of private aircraft by some of them.

However, in an opinion article published by Impact Nigeria on Tuesday, Odesola demanded that Madugba produce official government documents, petroleum licensing records and company ownership details to support his claims.

He also questioned the source of the information, asking whether Madugba personally witnessed the alleged allocations or relied on documentary evidence and credible sources.

According to Odesola, the fact that an allegation was made by a respected religious leader does not automatically make it credible.

“A statement made from a pulpit does not automatically become established truth because the speaker is a respected minister of the gospel or holds the title of professor,” he wrote.

The RCCG overseer further maintained that reports surrounding the circulating sermon had not presented documentary evidence establishing that Obasanjo allocated an oil well to Adeboye.

He clarified, however, that the absence of publicly available evidence did not necessarily mean such documents could not exist, but stressed that the allegation remained unsubstantiated.

Defending Adeboye, Odesola said his position was informed by more than five decades of membership in RCCG and over four decades of working closely with the church’s General Overseer.

He argued that the growth of the church and the establishment of its institutions should not be interpreted as evidence that Adeboye benefited from any alleged political allocation.

Odesola explained that RCCG was founded by Reverend Josiah Akindayomi, while Adeboye assumed leadership of the church in 1981, following the founder’s death in 1980.

He also highlighted Adeboye’s academic background, which includes degrees in Mathematics, Hydrodynamics and Applied Mathematics, noting that the church’s expansion was driven by decades of evangelism, missionary activities and financial contributions from members.

On Redeemer’s University, Odesola said the institution was established by RCCG and received Federal Government approval in January 2005 before commencing academic activities in October that year.

He maintained that the existence of the university and other institutions established by the church did not prove that Adeboye personally owned or received an oil well.

The cleric also questioned the suggestion that private aircraft used by religious leaders necessarily established personal ownership or proved that they were acquired through oil-related interests.

He said any credible investigation into the allegation must identify the purported oil block, the company that received the licence, its shareholders and beneficial owners, the date of allocation and the government authority responsible for approving it.

While insisting that religious institutions should remain open to legitimate scrutiny, Odesola argued that the responsibility to substantiate a specific allegation rested primarily with the person making it.

He urged Madugba to publish any documents supporting his claims or explain the basis of his allegations, adding that he should be willing to correct the record if the information proved inaccurate.

Odesola stressed that neither RCCG nor Adeboye should be considered above the law, but maintained that allegations must be distinguished from established facts until supported by credible evidence.