By Prisca Sam-Duru
Attempted assassinations, disruption at rallies, attacks on opponents, destruction of venues for events, and many other acts of violence, are cases that have long become normal abnormalities within the political scene, not only in Nigeria, but also in many parts of the world. It is very alien in religious settings, except when terrorists’ attacks are involved.
The recent report regarding the claimed “attack,” and failed attempts to disrupt the Enugu crusade of the Zion Prayer Movement Outreach (ZPMO), looks like politics have finally crawled out of its concealed form to operate openly in Christendom.
The allegations of sabotage against the founder of the Zion Ministry Evangelist Ebuka Obi, and the crusade which eventually took place on February 21, 2026, at the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium in Enugu, was an unfortunate development.
Imagine the Stadium – venue of the crusade under lock and key few hours to the scheduled programme due to an “order from above”. As if that’s not enough, some people were caught distributing false flyers claiming the event was cancelled so that worshipers who were already there could disperse. That was well planned. But by who? Who were their sponsors? Who exactly is afraid of Ebuka Obi’s Zion Ministry?
From stories making the rounds on social media, in addition to Evangelist Obi’s account, there were actually deliberate and calculated efforts to sabotage the event. Ebuka Obi also revealed that at some point, some “security operatives” and “thugs” were sent to his hotel room in Enugu to arrest or harm him. He, however, said that he got wind of the evil plan and checked out of the hotel just in time. He described the attempts to stop his crusade as “ intentional, calculated, and demonic.”
“I don’t want to tell people that Ebuka Obi would have died. When they discovered that people were lining up trying to enter the stadium, we got information that some police and thugs were coming to my hotel. The Holy Ghost told me to check out of the hotel. So, the agenda was to stop the crusade. Who is this person?”
‘It was a deliberate action from the pit of hell’
Since the unfortunate incident, Evangelist Ebuka Obi has spent time explaining what really happened in viral videos. In one of the videos, he began with the Bible verse- 1 Corinthians 15:57, “Thanks be to God who has given us victory in Christ Jesus,” he said, adding “Thank God for the miracles that happened in Enugu and the mammoth crowd. What happened was satanic, malicious, and a demonic conspiracy. It was a deliberate action from the pit of hell to prevent the crusade of Zion from taking place after we had announced that we were going to shut Enugu down.”
According to him, “Two weeks before the programme, I told people that I was not having the vibes to hold the Enugu crusade and that I’ve been seeing so many distractions. The crusade was fixed for February 21. I told them that I can’t go to Enugu without proper permission because we were going to use government facilities. And there’s no way I will go to any state without the governor knowing. Zion is not a small ministry; it has a multitude of people; it’s like a nation.
“I begged the Chief Judge of Enugu, who, in turn, went to the governor, then the governor referred him to the commissioner of sports because he is the one that has the right to approve. The commissioner for sports, who is the son of Ike Ekwerenmadu, approved on behalf of the governor. They told us how much we should pay, and we paid. They gave us approval to use the stadium on 21 of this month. Zion people were evangelizing in Enugu for about three months, and nobody told us that the space would not be used. They opened the stadium for us, and we started setting up the stage, three listers, speakers, etc, for over a week. Yet, nobody informed us that we were not going to use the stadium. All the preparations were streamed live online, so everyone was aware of our preparation, and this shows that it was a well calculated, professional, and demonic conspiracy.”
The sad disruption, he revealed further, began on Thursday, preceding Saturday 21st, the day of the crusade.
“It was on Thursday night about 15 minutes to 10 pm – barely 24 hours to the event on 21st, they sent message that the venue of the Zion crusade has been cancelled; order from above. They knew that if they cancelled the venue a week to the programme, we would be able to make an alternative arrangement. That’s a demonic agenda and those that masterminded that, if they don’t come out with apology, it will cause them and their family a very big pain.”
“Everybody was calling the governor, but they maintained that we should leave. They closed down the gate, and by Friday, it was horrible. The gates were locked, and people were trooping in from America, UK, all over the world. I couldn’t concentrate any more, especially when I heard that people were lining up on the road. What if somebody died. Later, people found a small gate that was open and trooped into the stadium from there. I don’t know how they got the information, and they closed it down.
“I called Governor Soludo of Anambra state and begged him to find out from Enugu state governor whether he was aware of what was going on. Governor Soludo gave me Enugu governor’s phone number and assured me that he had talked with him. At about 2am, which was already the day of the crusade, I sent a message to Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State. The gates were still locked; up till 8 am, the stadium gates were still locked, and I heard that people were jumping fences to gain entrance,” he added.
The most surprising thing to Evangelist Obi was the claim that the cancellation was as a result of “order from above”. “I’ve been surprised that the commissioner of sports said that the order was from above; which above? It is clear that somebody vowed that the crusade would not hold. But man is not God. We thank God that those who planned that evil have been put to shame because the crusade was successful, with mammoth crowds and miracles. And Jesus was glorified.
“So, governor Mbah, I want to assume that you were not aware of who gave the order. Zion ministry worldwide wants to know who gave the order not to allow us to use the stadium.
“Do you know that on Friday night, some people were caught sharing flyers, telling people not to go to Zion that the crusade had been cancelled? So, who sponsored that? Who is this person?”
Strong support for Zion Ministry
Many observers and supporters, including followers who are referred to as Zionists have questioned why certain individuals or groups are threatened by the rise of Ebuka Obi’s ministry. This has led to suggestions that established religious figures in the region might be uncomfortable with his popularity. While condemning what they felt could be religious rivalry, some fans have been urging other popular ministers to allow Ebuka Obi to operate. Zionists have strongly rallied behind the founder of their ministry, saturating the air with “back to sender” prayers, asserting that his spiritual power is unmatched, and declaring that the ministry would continue to move forward despite opposition.
Online discussion reveals that supporters praised God for the event, describing it as a massive success, and claiming the crowd reached 23,000 capacities, meaning that he “conquered” opposition. Despite the alleged threats, the crusade proceeded with high attendance, and Ebuka Obi was said to have promised to distribute ¦ 100 million to the poor in the Southeast during the event.
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