The Deeper Christian Life Ministry has dismissed as false a viral report alleging that its General Superintendent, Pastor William Kumuyi, accused the United States of plotting to seize Nigeria’s natural resources and denied claims of Christian persecution in the country.
The report, originally published by an online outlet known as Ibom Focus, caused a stir on X, on Sunday after it claimed Kumuyi made the comments during a press briefing in Lagos.
In a statement shared on Pastor Kumuyi’s verified X account on Monday, the church strongly condemned the publication.
“The Deeper Christian Life Ministry #dclmhq condemns in the strongest terms the malicious and entirely false news report circulated by a faceless platform which goes by the name of ‘Ibomfocus,’” the statement read.
“The story with the headline: ‘America is Trying to Steal our Natural Resources; There is No Christian Genocide in Nigeria, says Pastor Kumuyi,’ is a total fabrication and the figment of the imagination of its authors.”
The ministry clarified that Pastor Kumuyi has not been in Nigeria recently and therefore could not have addressed any press conference.
“Pastor Kumuyi did not at any time address a press conference or make the aforementioned statement in Lagos,” the statement continued.
“He has been away from Nigeria for a considerable length of time, holding programmes in the Oceania region and the Far East.
“Besides, Pastor Kumuyi is well known for focusing entirely on preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. He does not dabble into politics, as the false story mentioned above seemed to suggest.”
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The church further cautioned those attempting to spread false information or politicise the cleric’s name.
“The Ministry warns all those bent on mischief by seeking to drag our General Superintendent into politics, or fabricating stories in his name, to desist from such venture. In the future, any such activity may attract action.”
The ministry also reiterated through an earlier post that Pastor Kumuyi has not granted any recent press interviews or issued statements on political or national issues, noting that he has been focused on the Global Crusade with Kumuyi, a series of evangelistic events recently held in Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Pakistan.
This clarification emerged amid rising global attention on Nigeria following remarks by U.S. President Donald Trump, who threatened military intervention over alleged persecution of Christians.
In a post on Truth Social last Saturday, Trump warned that the U.S. “may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists,” if the Nigerian government failed to stop the reported killings of Christians.
While some Nigerians welcomed Trump’s statement, others, including human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, urged caution, warning that U.S. military involvement could worsen instability despite its stated intent to protect persecuted Christians.
