My days of incarceration is coming to an end-Adelaja

By Gbenga Osinaike

Pastor of the Charismatic Embassy of the Blessed Kingdom of God for All Nations in the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, Sunday Adelaja has said his days of incarceration in Ukraine would come to an end soon.

In a live broadcast about two days ago, October 15, the Nigerian born Ukraine based pastor and church founder said God had a purpose for allowing him go through the pain and challenges he has had to go through in the last ten years in Ukraine.

He said he has not been able to travel out of Ukraine because of the several court litigation against him.

Adelaja, an Ijebu man from Nigeria travelled to the USSR for studies in 1986 when he was 19 barely six months after his conversion.

After communism persecution subsided, he started the church in Kiev at age 27. By the time he was 33, the church had grown to be the biggest in the history of Europe with 15000 as at year 2000. He is known for his revolutionary work in Ukraine. His ministry effort has helped liberate thousands of people from sin and has brought liberty to the captive to drug and all forms of addiction in that part of the world.

His church grew so much that it became so influential in Ukraine and the whole of Europe. The ministry is noted for its effort in reaching to the poor and emancipation of the downtrodden. It’s also noted for the great role it played in the orange revolution in Ukraine.

But Adelaja’s travails began in 2008 when he was accused by charismatic pastors in Kiev of operating King’s Capital a financial institution as a Ponzi Scheme.  The financial institution failed and many who subscribed to it lost their investment. Though Adelaja denied involvement with the financial institution the charismatic pastors in Kiev accused him of encouraging his church members to invest in the scheme noting that as the leader of the church he was culpable.

He was subsequently charged under Part 4 article 190 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine for the embezzlement of funds in very large amount. If found guilty he would serve a 12-year jail term.

But since investigation on the matter and several other matters he has not been found guilty. He has had to remain in Ukraine in the last 10 years as a result of the several litigation.

In the newly released video however, Adelaja expressed hope that his travails would soon be over. He said God allowed him to go through what he is going through for a purpose.

He said, “At the beginning of my travail in Ukraine, I was used to it. But later I found it difficult to explain why God would allow me go through these challenges in Ukraine. I am not guilty of what I have been accused of in Ukraine. I have been fighting it for the last 10 years. The Ukrainian government can’t prove it that I am guilty. Because of these litigations I have not been able to travel outside the country”

He said his travails is synonymous with that of Apostle Paul in the Bible who was imprisoned for years and thereby had the opportunity of writing two third of the New Testament.

He said, “Paul’s travail, gave him the opportunity to develop himself and to find a time of solitude for him to hear from God and release messages to the Body of Christ. One third of the gospel were written by him because he was confined in prison. In my case I have been struggling with the knowledge that I receive from God and wondering how the world would benefit from this knowledge, then I realized I had to learn from Paul. I began to write and two years ago I began to do live broadcast.”

He said he has been able to do over 6000 videos which is more than any preacher has done in history. “We have been doing videos everyday, sometimes two times in a day. I have a lot of published materials for the world. I have written 300 books in Russia language. Initially I was not caring so much about the English world because I thought God called me to Russia. But we have since written over a 100 books in English.”

He also equated his travail with that of Martin Luther the reformer. “Martin Luther was standing against the leadership of the Church in his time. His life was threatened. But his friends arranged and kidnapped him so he would be taken away from public glare and he would not be killed. He was in solitary confinement but was well taken care of by his friends. It was in that confinement that He was able to translate the Bible from Hebrew Greek and Aramaic to Germany. Because of that effort, many other languages now have their own Bible”

While also linking his travail with the late sage, Chief Obafemi Awolowo who was charged for treason in 1963 and was found guilty and was imprisoned, he said, “the case of Awolowo a Nigerian leader is particularly interesting. He was charged for treason, found guilty and was imprisoned. It was while he was in prison that a military coup occurred and many of the leaders of Nigeria were killed. If he was not in prison perhaps he would have been killed. God allowed what happened to him, so that his life would be spared. He was released later by General Yakubu Gowon after another military coup and he became Nigeria’s minister for finance during the critical period of the war. The country did not have to borrow during the war because of Awolowo’s ingenuity.”

Adelaja said in closing, “I want to leave something for history. My days of incarceration is coming to an end. I believe by next year something positive would happen and I would have cause to travel out of Ukraine. I have a strong feeling that a day will come when my mission will be fulfilled. When the time comes for me to be free from all these litigations the dangers that God is shielding me from would have passed. A day will come when God will effect my release.”