Nigerian pastors
Pastors barred from the clergy retreat in Nigeria mingle outside the event venue. (Courtesy photo from Rev. Musa Lana).
Special to United Methodist Insight
Editor's note: We sent an email to the Rev. Baziel Yoruba, one of the bishop's assistants, inviting a response from Bishop Yohanna to this article. The email we received in reply was inappropriate for publication and did not address the pastors' allegations.
More than 70 United Methodist clergy of the Southern Nigeria Annual Conference were barred from entering the United Methodist Church Cathedral Mission Compound Mayogwoi, the venue of the 2021 pastors’ retreat, by heavily armed policemen, deployed by Bishop John Wesley Yohanna on Sept. 9, 2021. Armed police were handed a list of those to be allowed into the venue of the retreat.
Annually, pastors’ retreats are held in Nigeria as a refresher seminar for pastors to meet and learn from each other in order to enhance their ministry work. This year, fewer than 60 active pastors attended the retreat out of the more than 120 active pastors in the conference. The majority who came were not allowed entry by a group of armed police carrying out the instructions of Bishop Yohanna.
Most of the clergy who were barred from participating in the retreat were those who filed a formal complaint against Bishop Yohanna before the West African College of Bishops. These pastors and laity have been subjected to various forms of intimation, including police harassment and false litigation, by the current administration of Bishop Yohanna.
When pastors and laity feel mistreated, how should we respond? As United Methodists, what resources do we have when we see a church leader who is supposed to be a spiritual overseer who has behaved badly? Our Bible and the United Methodist Church have established a process through our Book of Discipline to address this. We demand the West Africa College Bishops to act now. This is necessary because of the current issues going on in Nigeria among the conferences and the confusion set by Bishop Yohanna, the resident United Methodist bishop of the church in Nigeria.
The 2016 Book of Discipline paragraphs 414 and 415 clearly state the spiritual, temporal, and presidential responsibilities of a United Methodist bishop, which basically include: strengthening the local church, providing spiritual leadership to both laity and clergy, building good relationships with people at the local church, teaching and upholding United Methodist Church discipline, and providing pastoral care.
We pastors contend the reverse is now the case in the administration of Bishop Yohanna, as currently the bishop has abandoned his constitutional responsibilities and now engaged in activities that violate the provisions of the Bible and the Book of Discipline.
We find that these violations include but not limited to the following:
- Bishop Yohanna joined the Wesleyan Covenant Association (an unofficial United Methodist Church group in America), and signed with them to form a new denomination without the approval of the United Methodist Church in Nigeria and is now using the power and the resources of the United Methodist Episcopal office to enforce his new denomination in Nigeria. Let it be known to all United Methodists that we elected Bishop Yohanna as a United Methodist bishop and not a bishop of any other denomination.
- Bishop Yohanna has been taking pastors/laity to police stations and courts. He has failed to provide supervisory responses as required in the church constitution.
- Bishop Yohanna has failed to account for over $500,000.00 USD, which is over N230,000,000.00 paid by the General Council on Finance and Administration (GCFA) for staff salaries, medical allowances, and pension, plus the $28,000 USD, which is about N12,600,000.00 paid by the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry (GBHEM) through the Central Conference Theological Education Fund (CCTEF) for pastors' retreat in 2020, which has covered pastors' retreat expenses.
- We do not know why the bishop is asking pastors to pay another fee for registration while the retreat was fully funded by the Central Conference Theological Education Fund. We are now being denied access to the pastors’ retreat because we demanded accountability from the bishop.
- We demand that Bishop John Wesley Yohanna account for all the money he received and stop using the police to harass and intimidate us for rightfully demanding for our collective resources which were placed under his care for the benefit of the Church which were misappropriated by him.
- We call on the West Africa College of Bishops to take prompt action on the complaints filed before it by both clergy and laity of the United Methodist Church in Nigeria. [Editor's Note: Bishop Benjamin Boni of Cote d'Ivoire, president of the West Africa College of Bishops, announced in late August that a scheduled visit to Nigeria was postponed because of coronavirus concerns).
We call on the Commissioner of Police, Taraba State Command, to call his men in order to refrain from taking side with the bishop in order to maltreat pastors and laity in Taraba State.
We will never be intimated by the callous attitude of Bishop Yohanna. Therefore, we call our pastors and laity in the United Methodist Church to remain calm while we pursue our constitutional rights as law-abiding citizens of this country and members of the United Methodist Church in Nigeria.
Signed:
1. Rev. Titus Ibrahim, Shagarda
2. Rev. Maigari Y. Chiroma. Garin Bello
3. Rev. William Joshua, G/Zangai
4. Rev. Aliyu S. Auta, The United Methodist Church Rest House
5. Rev. Yohanna N. Jabajo, Haske
6. Rev. Babangida B. Samu. Zing
7. Rev. Markus Sallah. Sukba District Superintendent
8. Rev. Christopher Amadi, Bansuwe
9. Rev. Edward B. Bau, Mayoreno
10. Rev. Joseph Lawan, Kauna Munchi
11. Rev. Danjuma S. Soba, Namnai
12. Rev. Musa Shady, Koppi
13. Rev. Joseph B. Shawulu, Tim-tim
14. Rev. Wanzami Bitus, Jatau
15. Rev. Alhassan Garba, Runde
16. Rev. Ande I. Emmanuel, Conference Secretary/ UMCN Antakiya
17. Rev. Timothy J. Sambo, Extension Ministry
18. Rev. Musa Lana, Abuja Haske
19. Rev. Ignatius Jesse, NTA Betalami
20. Rev. Dr. Danladi Dikko, NTA Betalami
21. Deacon Ahmed AyubBalasa Agure
22. Rev. Titus Saleh, Narajeh
23. Rev. Babangida Leonard, Munga Munchi
24. Rev. David Mungopack, Negatavah
25. Deacon Esther Ibrahim, Negatavah
26. Rev. Boniface Markus, Gwahir
27. Pastor Bitrus C. Kiki, Kunini
28. Pastor Akila M.B Ajeh, G/Sarki
29. Rev. Nicodemus Y. Arthimas, Ngalbije
30. Rev. Nuhu Maikanti, Iware
31. Rev. Samuel A. Ahmed, Ndela
32. Rev. Eli S. Yakku, Fan District Superintendent
33. Rev. Mary Eli Yakku, Nazarath
34. Rev. Agnes Joshua, G/Sarki
35. Rev. Peter Iliya Bangai, Iware
36. Rev. Danladi Alhaji, Kunini
37. Rev. Isa Obi, Bali
38. Rev. Danlami Babare, The United Methodist Church
39.Rev. Dauda Uzzajah, Extension Ministry
40. Rev. Salihu Mamuda, The United Methodist Church
The Rev. Musa Lana describes himself as "the eldest of the ordained elders" in the Southeastern Nigerian Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.