Power Minister Petitions DSS Over Alleged Extortion Attempt by Primate Ayodele
Bayo Adelabu, Nigeria’s Minister of Power under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has formally petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS), accusing Primate Elijah Ayodele of attempting to extort N150 million under the guise of providing “spiritual support” for his 2027 governorship ambition in Oyo State.
The petition, dated October 13, 2025, and signed by Adelabu’s aide, Bolaji Tunji, claims that the INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church founder demanded large sums of money and expensive ritual items in exchange for divine intervention. According to the document, Ayodele allegedly turned against the minister after he declined to comply with the requests.
The minister was reportedly instructed to provide 24 APC flags and 1,000 saxophones or trumpets, with prices ranging from N50 million for Nigerian-grade instruments to N130 million for imported Chinese grade-one items. Deadlines for the deliveries were initially set for April 1 and later extended to April 4.
Ayodele allegedly insisted the requests were “instructions from God,” and urged Adelabu to conduct prayers, vigils, and rituals to secure electoral success. Adelabu is said to have informed the cleric that he could not afford the items. Following this refusal, the cleric reportedly declared during a church service that Adelabu would not become governor and invited him to challenge his prophecy legally.
In his petition, Adelabu described the encounter as spiritual blackmail intended to influence the political process through financial and ritual pressure. He urged the DSS to investigate Ayodele, compel him to retract his alleged “false prophecies,” and issue a formal apology.
The petition reads in part:
“I write to formally draw the attention of the Department of State Services to the extortive, deceitful, and inciting activities of Primate Elijah Ayodele, whose actions are not only personally distressing to the Honourable Minister of Power but capable of disturbing public peace and undermining the integrity of the political process in Oyo State. He has demanded sums totaling over N150 million and expensive ritual items as purported prerequisites for divine favour. Having consistently declined, the minister is now targeted by retaliatory and malicious prophecies.”
Adelabu also petitioned the Oyo State Police Commissioner over what he termed Ayodele’s “extortive and inciting activities.”
In response, Ayodele denied attempting to extort the minister for money, stating that he only requested the trumpets for Adelabu’s benefit. In a statement signed by his media aide, Osho Oluwatosin, the cleric said:
“I didn’t ask Bayo Adelabu to bring money for prayers. I only told him to find out the cost of the trumpets for his own good. His aides put me under pressure, and the minister even said he was willing to give anything to become governor. My instruction was solely to get the trumpets.”
Adelabu, a former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria and 2019 APC governorship candidate, now plans to contest again under the Accord Party, with Governor Seyi Makinde stepping down after completing his two terms.
The case raises questions about whether this is an isolated dispute or part of a broader pattern involving spiritual figures and political ambitions. Readers are invited to share their opinions on Primate Ayodele’s alleged demand in the comments section.
