Minister of Power, Mr. Bayo Adelabu, has petitioned the Department of State Services (DSS) over what he describes as an attempt by Primate Elijah Ayodele, Founder and Head of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Oke Afa, Lagos, to blackmail and extort him of ₦150 million under the guise of “spiritual intercession” to secure his emergence as governor of Oyo State in 2027.

Mr. Adelabu, a former governorship candidate who has declared his intention to contest the 2027 Oyo governorship election, made the allegations in a petition dated 13 October 2025. The document, signed by his Special Adviser on Strategic Communications and Media Relations, Mr. Bolaji Tunji, was addressed to the Director-General of the DSS.

According to the petition, Primate Ayodele allegedly made several false prophecies targeted at damaging the minister’s reputation after Mr. Adelabu refused to comply with what he described as persistent demands for money and costly “spiritual items”.

TheCable reports that text messages exchanged between both men show the cleric requesting 24 APC flags for prayers, as well as 1,000 saxophones/trumpets. According to Primate Ayodele, the “least expensive” fairly used Nigerian versions would cost ₦50 million, while imported grade-one instruments from China would total ₦130 million. He initially asked that the items be provided by 1 April, before extending the deadline to 4 April.

“Sir, I don’t do this, but because of the love I have for you,” the primate wrote in one of the messages.

Primate Ayodele also claimed to have written several letters to Mr. Adelabu during his time as Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and later as minister, alleging that the letters went unanswered. At various points, he sought to speak with the minister, who informed him he was on pilgrimage. In one message, the cleric instructed him to “recite almu nasira 200 times”—apparently referring to Alam Nashrah, the 94th chapter of the Qur’an, which speaks of divine assistance and relief after hardship.

Throughout the exchanges, Primate Ayodele insisted that his requests were based on divine instruction, repeatedly declaring that Mr. Adelabu would “rule Oyo State”.

“I have divine advice for you, sir, which can help a lot. Kindly pick my call,” one message read. In another, he wrote: “Do vigil and the angel of God is coming to hear request by 1am… I don’t want you to lose the coming election. That is why I’m following the instructions.”

Mr. Adelabu responded that he could not afford the items in question.

Following the breakdown in communication, Primate Ayodele, while speaking in his church, declared that Mr. Adelabu had “failed” and would not become governor of Oyo State. Video clips seen by TheCable show the cleric saying the minister “made mistakes” and that his earlier messages were a “warning from God”. He also dared Mr. Adelabu to arrest or sue him.

Ayodele’s Response: “I Did Note Attempt to Extort the Minister” 

Primate Ayodele has strongly denied the allegations. In a statement issued on Friday and signed by his media aide, Mr. Osho Oluwatosin, the cleric rejected claims that he sought to extort ₦150 million from the minister.

He argued that he never asked Mr. Adelabu to send him money, apart from the request for musical instruments—which he described as being “for the minister’s good”. According to him, it was Mr. Adelabu who asked for the cost of the trumpets, and he only provided an estimate while asking the minister to send someone to the market to confirm the prices.

The cleric also alleged that the minister’s personal assistant and another intermediary “pressurised” him because Mr. Adelabu was “showing serious desperation” for the Oyo governorship seat.

“I didn’t ask Bayo Adelabu to bring money for prayers. I told him to ask someone from his end to go to the market and find out how much the trumpets cost, while someone followed them from my end too. His personal assistant, himself, and the person he sent to me put me under so much pressure because he was desperate for governorship,” the statement read.

He claimed the minister had gone as far as saying he was “willing to give anything” to become governor, insisting that the request for trumpets was merely spiritual advice.

Primate Ayodele further stated that he had long prophesied that it would take “the grace of God” for Mr. Adelabu to become governor of Oyo State. He said he had never spoken with the minister until Mr. Adelabu allegedly sent people to him to seek his spiritual intervention.

“I have been talking about how he won’t be made governor of Oyo State for years; this is why he called me to seek solutions. I have never spoken to him before till he sent people to me and personally requested my spiritual help. I don’t make prophecies to make money; I am blessed already. My subsequent prophecies after our discussion aren’t because he failed to buy the musical instruments. It can never be,” he asserted.