The following are the views expressed by Olufemi Oguntokun in the June 25, 2026 episode of the On the Lord’s Side Podcast — Christian perspectives on news and current events.
ON PELUMI ONIFADE AND DELAYED JUSTICE
Good morning to you once again. It is Thursday, the 25th of June 2026.
I want to begin this morning with a sad development in a tragic story. This is the story of a young man, now late: his name was Pelumi Emmanuel Onifade. When he died, he was just 20 years old — a journalism intern and a university student. He went out in October 2020. And for many people in Nigeria, once you hear a date like that, October 2020, you are reminded of the #EndSARS protests that engulfed principally Lagos and many other parts of Nigeria, where young people took to the streets in their numbers to protest against police brutality.
This young man, Pelumi Emmanuel Onifade, just 20 years old, was interning with an online TV outfit as a journalist, and was a student of Tai Solarin University of Education. He went out in October 2020 to do his job — to cover the #EndSARS protests. While filming in the Abule Egba and Agege area, he captured disturbing footage of a politician allegedly shooting into a crowd of unarmed protesters, and the video went viral. This is a matter of record. Tragically, Pelumi himself was soon shot, he was arrested, and his body ended up unidentified in a mortuary for years. So he had been missing for quite a while. It was clear from different testimonies before official panels that he was shot, that he died, but his body could not be located. Only now, through DNA testing, has his identity been confirmed in an ongoing coroner’s inquest. His family searched desperately for him. And what should have been a time of youthful promise became a story of loss, of delayed justice, and of profound grief.
We must be reminded, as Christians called to be compassionate and kind, and to walk circumspectly and righteously in this world, of the well-documented atrocities that took place during the #EndSARS protests — atrocities committed by persons representing the government, either as members of the police or the military. The Nigerian state has not yet fully acknowledged the deaths of those young people killed, whether at the Lekki Toll Gate or at other places. This was not merely a shooting; this was an extrajudicial murder of a young man who was 20 years old when he died.
News broke yesterday because of the coroner’s inquest now ongoing. The coroner had ordered DNA testing on corpses in a particular mortuary, and the test has now returned, confirming that one of the corpses — deposited at the Ikorodu General Hospital mortuary — is that of this young man, Pelumi Onifade. Obviously, what happened was that some trigger-happy policeman, either out of overzealousness or commissioned by the politician said to have been caught on tape, shot this young man of 20 and deposited his body somewhere, and it eventually found its way to the Ikorodu General Hospital mortuary. We want to use this occasion once again to commiserate with his parents. We are talking about something that happened nearly six years ago, but they never had closure. In a sense, there is no way you ever experience closure with the death of a son. Even when the corpse is found, parents find it difficult to find closure — let alone in a case where the corpse was not found for nearly six years, until DNA testing identified it. I pray the Lord will keep them comforted. May you never experience anything like that.
This is a reminder of the many atrocities that happened during the #EndSARS protests in 2020. It is also a reminder, for those familiar with the criminal justice system in Nigeria, of the atrocities taking place in police stations in many places. Many credible stories have been shared of how, in many police stations, there are restricted areas where police officers — if they have been commissioned, or for some other reason — would simply shoot people and dump their corpses. And you have to ask yourself: those police officers who do such things, who are they really? These things happen, so much so that there are many unresolved cases of people who have gone missing. The day a thorough investigation is eventually conducted in this country, many of us who already think we are familiar with how bad things are will still be utterly shocked by how profoundly bad and horrible things truly are.
We should be praying for this country, for forgiveness for all of us. That is why, when Christians pray — even Christians redeemed by the blood of Jesus, who are not flaunting their own righteousness but relying on the direction of Christ while working righteousness in this world — even if you have never been in government, even if you have never participated in any such outstanding act of wickedness, we pray for the forgiveness of our nation. Because these people — the policemen, the military officers, the politicians — in the ultimate sense do these things in our names. That is why, rightly so, you hear the expression now common in the culture: “Nigeria has happened to him,” and people pray, “May Nigeria never happen to you.” Because when the system itself is evil and corrupt and does not protect the citizens, yes, ultimately it is one person or a group doing the actual evil acts — but it is a system. It is a system that allows a policeman who shot a journalist not to be arrested or disciplined; that allows his colleagues not to bring it up; that allows the politician named and featured in the viral video not to have been arrested and prosecuted; that delayed the identification of this young man’s corpse for so long.
So, first, let us keep praying for those directly impacted by the wickedness in this country, and indeed in the world generally. While I am saddened by this, and I hope you, as a person of good conscience, are also saddened, it is a reminder that there are people directly impacted — the mother of this boy, his father, his siblings, his friends, his close associates. Remember them in prayer; I pray the Lord will keep them comforted. Second, we have a duty to pray for forgiveness for this country. Oftentimes, when I speak with my mother about things like this, we say there is too much blood shed in the land, and innocent blood shed grieves the heart of God. We must pray that the Lord will have mercy upon our country and forgive us.
Then we must call for justice. We are not only to say, “Lord, comfort those directly impacted,” nor only to say, “Lord, there is evil, have mercy upon us and forgive us.” We must join the call for justice. The person who shot this boy — there is a Christian duty, a biblical duty, on us as a nation to bring that person to book. I am not saying you should go out and carry placards, but whenever the discussion comes up, in whatever way you can add to it, do not be among those who say, “But what was he doing on the street? Why was he not wise enough not to mingle with that violent crowd?” Many things may be rationalised; it may not be your cup of tea to go out and protest. But was it right for him to have been shot that way, killed extrajudicially, murdered, his corpse thrown to some unknown place, his parents deprived of closure for more than six years? Was it right for the shooting not to have been reported, even if it could somehow be justified? Things that are objectively wrong should be treated as evil and wrong, and we should call for justice — even for those who may have some sympathies for the government in this matter. We may disagree on political matters, but objective wrongs are another thing.
Thankfully, the coroner’s inquest now ongoing is one step in unravelling what really happened. I pray for courage for the coroner and all those who will carefully sift through the evidence; I pray for divine insight, that the Lord will lead them to see what needs to be uncovered, and for courage to make the right recommendations. I pray that the Lord will raise up for us people who carry a burden for justice — who will say, “Let us investigate this matter, and let us punish those found culpable.”
And I want to end on a note of prayer. I pray for the family of this young man, Pelumi Emmanuel Onifade, that the Lord will keep them comforted. I pray for our nation, that the Lord will forgive us of our sins — sins committed in our names by our policemen, our military, our politicians, and sins committed by we ourselves in not speaking up for justice, in not praying for our nation. I pray that the Lord will lift up to positions of responsibility in this country people who love the Lord, who love justice, who will be captives of His will. I join the growing call for a fresh investigation into the death of this young man, and I make it clear that it is a moral and godly duty, as a nation, to bring to justice those who killed him. Thankfully, his corpse has been discovered — and this is the glory of God. All the time those six years that people searched for him, God knew where his corpse was. It is to His glory that it has been found now, and we can rest assured that He is a good God, a God of justice. I pray His greater purposes will be accomplished in this matter, to His glory. And may the Lord not delay the day when this nation will experience true revival and transformation. In Jesus’ name, amen.
ON THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH AND THE COST OF CONFORMITY
Next, I want to talk about the Episcopal Church in the United States. There are reports, widely circulated, that the Episcopal Church plans to sell its longtime New York headquarters. That is truly newsworthy.
You need to understand that the Episcopal Church in the United States is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is not called the Anglican Church in the United States because of the history of the birth of America. There was a time when the states now constituting the USA were colonies — colonised by Britain — and everywhere the British Crown went, it took with it its official state religion, Anglicanism. So there were Anglican churches in the American colonies before the birth of America, before the American Revolution of 1775 to 1783. After the Revolution — basically the colonies revolting against England — it became incongruous to continue maintaining “the Anglican Church” in its original form. So, post-revolution, the Anglican Church in the former colonies was reorganised into an independent American church and became known as the Episcopal Church.
To underscore why the planned sale of its longtime New York headquarters is such a big deal, consider the influence of the Episcopal Church in American society. Many US presidents have been associated with it. Until lately, when people from various other denominations began to feature, it used to be the case that US presidents were members of the Episcopal Church — because if you were part of the elite, part of the top political class, you were expected to be a member. So that should give you an idea of how influential the church was. Think of the Church of England, almost the official church in England. The United States has no official religion or church, but the Episcopal Church was for a long time regarded as the unofficial, official church of the United States. That is how influential it was. And no surprise that it accumulated substantial assets all over the country — as the Catholic Church and the Church of England have all over the world. These things are not bad in themselves: the assets were acquired from the contributions of members, and as long as they are used to generate funds for godly purposes, that is a good thing.
So why is the Episcopal Church selling its longtime New York headquarters? I take this report from GettysburgConnection.org. It says the church will sell its longtime headquarters building in New York City — a move that reflects changing work habits and the continuing decline of mainline Protestant denominations in the United States. Continuing decline. And you have to ask: why are these churches declining in membership — the Episcopal Church, and the Church of England? Church leaders said the 12-storey headquarters at 815 Second Avenue in Midtown Manhattan will be placed on the market following action by the denomination’s executive council. The building, completed in 1963 at a cost of four million dollars, contains about 146,000 square feet and is considered one of the church’s most valuable assets. Officials said the property has become increasingly underused since the rise of remote work, with less than half of it currently occupied. The church hopes to pursue a long-term ground lease that could allow the site to be redeveloped, potentially including affordable housing. The decision comes as the Episcopal Church, the US branch of the Anglican Communion, continues to adapt to decades of membership decline. The denomination reported about 1.5 million members today, down from approximately 3.4 million in 1960.
I want to stop there, because I want to make a point about the decline in membership of these churches. This is definitely not the result of a decline in population — just a decline in the membership of this particular Episcopal Church, and the Church of England would report a similar decline. This has been a worry for many members and observers, but they should not be that worried. When liberal churches like the Episcopal Church first started observing decline, one argument made by some voices within it — the same argument made in the Church of England and in many mainline Protestant denominations — was this: “The reason we are declining is that we are out of tune with the times. We have to move with the times, and then our membership will not decline.” They say to all of us who are Christians: “Look at the society. Don’t just huddle together in the auditorium — open the window and look outside. In society, it is all about gender equality. Look at the church: do you have female priests ordained? No. Well, if you want them to come in, you had better do as they do outside. Look outside: do people still honour monogamous marriages? No, things are fluid now. Look at the church: are things fluid? No. Look outside again: do quite a number in society now recognise and live in homosexual relationships? Yes. Look in the church: do you have that? No. Well, until you become like the society, you will continue to decline — because the people outside don’t want to come into a church that is radically different from the society.”
That was one of the arguments that started the move to liberalise doctrines and core beliefs in many of these churches. And the Episcopal Church in the United States has been very liberal for a long time. It was the Episcopal Church that, on July 29, 1974, ordained the first set of women priests in the Anglican Communion worldwide — the so-called Philadelphia 11, eleven women deacons ordained as priests, marking a radical departure from the received doctrines of the church, and indeed from the stipulations of the Scriptures themselves. And as we have always said, once you take one step away from the strict reading of Scripture — once you find some way to rationalise your reading to accommodate what the Scripture clearly says you should not do; once you begin to say, “Oh, Paul was not talking to everybody, he was just talking to that church,” when the Holy Spirit did not lead him to write that; when you are not ready simply to submit and say, “Although we don’t see the point, although we don’t agree, that is what it says, so let us do it” — once you depart like that, you are compelled to keep departing. Because those who observed that precedent will say in future, “Did we not depart in 1974 on that point? We should also be able to depart on this new point.”
And that is what happened. After July 29, 1974 — the first ordination of women priests, the Philadelphia 11 — in 1977 the Episcopal Church ordained the Reverend Ellen Barrett, widely recognised as the first openly lesbian priest in the Episcopal Church. They rationalised it by saying, “She is lesbian, but she is celibate” — that is, identifying as lesbian but not in any homosexual relationship, not having sex. So the first step is, “Let’s ordain women.” The next step is, “A lesbian woman, but she’s celibate.” Then, in 1989, the Reverend J. Robert Williams was ordained as the first openly gay, non-celibate male priest — actually in a sexual relationship with another man — ordained in December 1989 by Bishop John Shelby Spong, sparking significant controversy. And then it took quite a while: it was on November 2, 2003, that the Episcopal Church elected its first openly gay bishop, the Right Reverend Gene Robinson. I actually remember that day, watching it on CNN — it was quite the news, with my dad and others reflecting on it. Robinson is now a retired bishop of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, now 79 years old. So it took a while, but eventually they got there: 1974, 1977, 1989, 2003 — a slippery slope, and once you are on it, you keep going down.
Remember that many other established churches are now toeing that line. The previous Pope had said that if homosexual couples approach a priest, he should be able to say some prayers for them — and people said, “Well, if it is limited to that, okay.” But it is always a slippery slope; you move to the next one. The same with the Church of England, which followed the Episcopal Church in ordaining women, and then began talking about people in homosexual relationships. The Church of England now ordains homosexual priests — though, according to its official rules, homosexual persons in the priestly order must be celibate, meaning you may be openly gay but not engage in sexual relationships. (And how can you know what people are doing behind closed doors?)
I have gone through all this to make a point: notwithstanding that these churches opened their doors to accommodate the changes in society, they continue to decline in membership. Which should be no surprise to anyone who is biblically wise. The church has always thrived best when she drew lines between herself and the society. People persuade us to think otherwise — that we will thrive and increase when we become like the society. But we are not called to become like the society; we are called to influence the society to become like Christ. I read Animal Farm a long time ago — the satire by George Orwell, that name being the pen name of the writer. I won’t bore you with the plot, but it was basically a revolution by animals against human beings, and eventually, as every revolution goes, those who championed the revolution began to copy the very ways of the human beings they overthrew. And it came to a point — I came across this quote yesterday and found it really compelling — where Orwell writes: “The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.” In Animal Farm, the revolutionaries had ground rules: we will not wear the clothes humans wear, we will not use their tools the way they do, we will not eat the way they eat. Eventually they were doing all those same things, until it was impossible to tell which was which.
And that is what has become of many of the liberal churches: the very compelling reason people should come into your church, you have taken away — which is holiness, holiness unto the Lord. Is that not what the Lord stipulated His priests must wear on their breastplate, “Holiness unto the Lord,” and what should be the watchword of the church? Separated unto the Lord. The compelling attraction of the church is that it is separated unto the Lord, different from the society. Let us be clear-eyed and bold enough to say to those who argue otherwise: the compelling attraction of the church is in its separation to God, not in its resemblance to society. This is similar to the point we made yesterday about people putting pastors and priests under so much pressure to increase the number of worshippers. Wanting growth is not bad in itself — sometimes a declining membership signals that we are not pursuing evangelism as aggressively as we should, and we should. But when you begin to measure the success of a church by how large or how fast it is growing, you are probably missing the point.
It is not always about numerical growth; it is about spiritual depth. God is delighted when a church is truly worshipping Him in spirit and in truth — in spirit, going through Christ and His Holy Spirit; in truth, being faithful to what He has said. Even if there were only two persons in that church, did He not say, “Where two or three are gathered in My name, there I am in the midst of them”? It is not numbers He is concerned with that way. Yet it is to His glory that we engage in aggressive evangelism, and if He chooses to bless our efforts with crowds, that too is to His glory. But to say, “Unless we see the crowd, we don’t believe you are working as a pastor,” is to miss the point. And that is why many have resorted to ungodly tactics just to bring people in — “Let us show the society we are like them, let us ordain openly gay priests, so the society will come.” But the people outside look at the church just like in Animal Farm, from church to society and from society to church, and find no difference. So they say, “Why should we come to your church? There is no difference whatsoever.”
Now that the Episcopal Church of America — once so influential, one of the richest religious organisations in the world — is putting up its New York headquarters for sale or long-term lease, among other reasons because of continuing membership decline, this should be a reminder that the argument which liberalised its doctrine was not only unwise and ill-advised; it fundamentally runs against the teaching of Scripture. The argument that said, “If you want this church to grow and not become irrelevant, you had better be like society” — which people are still making today — is false. The church grows not by us coddling the world and being like it, but by the Lord giving the increase. Somebody plants, somebody waters, but the Lord gives the increase. People should stop being afraid of what cannot happen. Do you think the Church of Christ will become extinct? It will never happen. He has said that, once the church is built on the truth of the Lordship of Jesus Christ, the gates of hell will never prevail against it.
Many have been forced to embrace doctrines and ideas all because, “Hey, the church will die.” The church will not die. It cannot die. From the rising of the sun to its going down, the Lord will always be praised all over the world. The church will never die. You know that hymn, “The Church’s One Foundation is Jesus Christ her Lord.” I have committed the lyrics of many hymns to memory, but not fully this one, though I love to go through it. The third stanza: “Mid toil and tribulation, and tumult of her war, she waits the consummation of peace forevermore; till with the vision glorious her longing eyes are blest, and the great church victorious shall be the church at rest.” And: “Elect from every nation, yet one o’er all the earth; her charter of salvation, one Lord, one faith, one birth; one holy name she blesses, partakes one holy food, and to one hope she presses, with every grace endued.” That is the church’s one foundation. She is His new creation by water and the word; from heaven He came and sought her to be His holy bride; with His own blood He bought her. The church will never go extinct as long as her one foundation remains Jesus Christ our Lord. But if you really want the earthly church to go extinct, become like the society — and you will find that, once your church is not built on Jesus Christ at the foundation, the world will look from church to world and from world to church and find no difference, and ask, “Why should we be here?” The compelling attraction of the church for the world is that the church is separated to the Lord. If the church is no longer separated, it has no message for the world. And as many in these established denominations are finding out, they will eventually just fade away, and everybody will ask, “How can a church established 300, 200, 500 years ago now be going?” It is because the church forgot its one foundation, Jesus Christ.
I pray the Lord will give us grace to be truly faithful, and to be among those who continue to say: Scripture alone, Scripture alone. We are people of the Book. We are not writing the laws for ourselves; it has been written. We are His bondservants. We did not make Him; He made us. We are His, and we are bound by what He has said — even if we do not understand, even if we do not fully agree. That is the hallmark of His servant: scratching your head, saying, “Lord, I wish this were not in the Bible, but it is there,” and yet, as His bondservant, you are duty-bound to say, “As my Lord pleases.” That is what we say in court: you do not agree with what a judge has ruled, but you are bound by ethical requirement to say, “As my Lord pleases.” That is what we should learn as Christians as well. You read a portion of Scripture that says, “Do not do this in our churches,” and you should say, “As my Lord pleases.”
ON A SUSPENDED SENIOR ADVOCATE AND SUFFERING FOR WHAT IS RIGHT
And finally this morning, a story from Nigeria and from the legal sector. Many people know this gentleman, Chief Mike Ozekhome, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria. Yesterday, the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee, at its 173rd general meeting, ruled that Chief Mike Ozekhome should no longer be referred to as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria; he has been suspended from that rank.
The rank of Senior Advocate of Nigeria is a privilege — that is why the committee is called the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee. It is given to legal practitioners who have distinguished themselves and met certain guidelines; and not all who meet those guidelines are elevated, only some are privileged to be. That is why nobody can bring a lawsuit saying, “I am qualified to be a SAN but have not been so elevated.” According to law, it is a mere privilege to be elevated to that rank — and that is precisely why it is possible for a person elevated to it to also be suspended from it.
Chief Mike Ozekhome has been a staple on the legal scene, especially in political matters, long associated with the PDP, the People’s Democratic Party, and many opposition politicians; he has never been on the same side as the politicians now in the ruling All Progressives Congress. I have a personal note here — not that I have any particular admiration for him, though I do not disrespect him; but I am grateful to him, because when I was president of the law society in the university, we had an annual lecture, and we invited him. He was not yet a Senior Advocate then, but he was a notable human rights actor. He gladly accepted, though it was not going to be a paid engagement, and we were so delighted. His son was a year senior in the faculty. He came for that lecture during my presidency of the Law Society, and I continue to be personally grateful to him for that.
So why was he suspended from the rank? According to the reports, on June 23, 2026, the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee, at its 173rd general meeting, approved a suspension under paragraph 26 of the relevant rules. It is precautionary, pending the outcome of disciplinary proceedings before the Disciplinary and Ethics Subcommittee. According to the committee, the suspension was aimed at protecting the integrity, dignity and prestige of the Senior Advocate of Nigeria rank. What happened? It stems from a high-profile dispute over a property at Randall Avenue, London, linked to the late General Jeremiah Useni, former FCT Minister. Ozekhome and others, including Useni’s son, face criminal charges in Nigeria’s FCT High Court involving alleged forgery of a document, use of that document in a UK tribunal proceeding, and related offences such as conspiracy, false documents and corruption. The trial is ongoing. Ozekhome has pleaded not guilty and denied the allegations — that should be on record. But it appears the LPPC has concluded that, although he has pleaded not guilty, it will await the conclusion of the trial while preserving, in its words, the integrity and prestige of the rank, suspending him from using it for now until the matter is settled.
That is not a bad thing in itself. From time to time, even when a church leader is credibly accused of something substantial, the usual approach is for the person to step down for now, so that it does not appear the body is putting forward as a leader someone who has to answer credible allegations. But many are also saying that Chief Mike Ozekhome has, in effect, fallen into the hands of the All Progressives Congress, because for a long while he has been one of the most consistent lawyers offering services to the PDP and the opposition. People say this suspension is hasty. There is an argument for that. I do not want to go into all the legal niceties, but some argue: if the matter is still under judicial consideration, if the trial has not concluded, if his guilt has not been proven, why take punitive action? Suspending him from the rank is a kind of punitive action. Are you prejudging the matter? Others argue it is just precautionary — that he should not use the rank until everything is settled. And then there is a counter-argument: if you proceed like that, then anyone who wants someone suspended from an office need only bring an allegation, credible or not, and say, “Because you have been accused, step down for now.” There is a danger in that approach, and I hope you see it, because it lends itself to abuse. People could say, “If you want that bishop, that judge, that chairman to step down, just make an allegation — make it weighty — and then he has to step down until we investigate.” That kind of approach lends itself to abuse, because people will come up with all sorts of spurious allegations in bad faith just to get a person suspended for a while. That is what I have said about this matter: the matter is still in court; his guilt has not been determined.
Indeed, everybody fears for Chief Mike Ozekhome, because of the kind of things we have read in the news reports; it would take quite a bit of legal manoeuvring and some good fortune for him to avoid the most adverse consequences. Some say that if he were to make a deal with the ruling party, he would probably avoid some punishment. Many also say this suspension of his rank was ill-motivated, not in good faith — and I would take that position as well. If the matter is pending in court, why pre-empt it? Why not wait until its conclusion? It would never be too late, in addition to whatever punishment the court might mete out to a guilty person, for the committee to then also suspend him from the rank.
But I am reminded of something, drawing a lesson from a Christian perspective. There is a portion of Scripture where Peter cautioned us, in effect: be sure that you are suffering for what is right. The argument here would be that Chief Mike Ozekhome is being persecuted for having stood clearly, in the past, against the interests of the ruling All Progressives Congress, and that the APC is influencing what is going on now — because many noted the haste with which the Attorney General instituted criminal action against him, then the haste with which the Legal Practitioners Privileges Committee has now suspended him. People say it is all politically motivated, and that if it were one of the senior lawyers aligned with the APC, this would not be happening. And sometimes we do find ourselves in such situations, where you are treated this way because you are not aligned with those in power.
In 1 Peter 3:14, the Holy Spirit wrote through Saint Peter: “But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed.” If you suffer for what is right, you are blessed — but the verse reminds us to be careful that we are suffering only for what is right, and not because we have played into people’s hands by doing what is wrong. I once had a client married to a black American, himself an American citizen, clearly aligned with the Democratic Party in the United States. For those who know my own politics, I am not a fan of the Democratic Party, and we would have these political arguments back and forth. We started talking about Bill Clinton and his time in office, and the idea that he was persecuted by the Republicans who attempted to impeach him — an impeachment that did not succeed. But my client said something striking: Bill Clinton had only himself to blame; he should not blame the Republicans for what they did to him, because, well, it was he who had sexual contact with an intern in the White House.
So the point I am making is this: even if you have enemies, traducers and opponents out there who would take advantage of the laws, who would even abuse systems and processes to ridicule or punish you — even if that were the case — let us be sure they would have no basis for it. We have one example from the Scriptures: Daniel. He had opponents, enemies, detractors and traducers; they wanted to get him, but the Bible records that they could not find anything against Daniel. They had to lie just to get him. And of course, the Lord eventually delivered him. This is where we all should learn — I should learn, you should learn — that we are called to be light in this world, so much so that even if we had enemies setting traps for us, they would have to say, “We have searched and cannot find anything against this man.” The same with Jesus Christ: the leaders of the temple wanted Him convicted on some charge, searched, and could not find anything; they had to lie. It should be the case that when Satan and the world band together to do evil to us, they must eventually resort to lying in order to have their way; they themselves must say, deep in their hearts, “We have searched everywhere and cannot find anything against this man.”
It would appear that is not quite the case with Chief Mike Ozekhome — because even if, and I use a big “if,” it is not proven that he is being persecuted by the APC; even if the political class in the APC has been manipulating the institutions to punish him in this matter — even if that were the case, well, he gave them a reason to do so. We should not give the world a reason to do us harm. But this much we know: we cannot live righteously by our own power. We can only trust in the Lord, who works in us to will and to do what is acceptable in His sight.
So this is what I would say, as we should say in any such matter: Chief Mike Ozekhome deserves, just like any citizen, a fair trial. The trial should be fair; justice should not only be done, but be seen to be done; and things should be done according to the rule of law. Let us pray that he gets justice, and let us pray that everyone who stands trial gets the opportunity of a fair trial. The overarching point is: let us be careful — only the Lord can help us — and I pray the Lord will keep us in this pilgrimage, so that we do not give the enemies of God an opportunity to blaspheme His name. God have mercy upon us and help us.
I want to thank you for being with me this morning on On the Lord’s Side — Christian perspectives on news and current events. I hope to be with you again tomorrow by the special grace of God. Whatever you do today, please remain firmly on the Lord’s side. God bless you. You are listening to GospelBellsRadio.com, the Christian internet radio with a mission to engage the culture with the mind of Christ. Keep listening, and invite others too. God bless you. Engaging the culture with the mind of Christ.
