The Deeper Christian Life Ministry has dismissed a viral report claiming that its General Superintendent, Pastor William Kumuyi, accused the United States of attempting to steal Nigeria’s natural resources and denied the existence of Christian genocide in the country.
The story, published by an online platform called Ibom Focus, sparked outrage on X on Sunday, alleging that Kumuyi made the comments during a press briefing in Lagos.
In an official statement posted on Kumuyi’s verified X account on Monday, the church described the publication as “entirely false.”
“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.
It added, “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 the cleric has not been in Nigeria recently and did not hold any press conferences, emphasizing, “Pastor Kumuyi did not at any time address a press conference or make the aforementioned statement in Lagos. 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.”
The church also issued a warning to those attempting to spread misinformation in Kumuyi’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.”
An earlier post by the church had reiterated that Kumuyi had not granted any recent press interviews or made public statements on other matters, noting that he has been engaged in the Global Crusade with Kumuyi, which recently held events in Fiji, the Solomon Islands, and Pakistan.
The clarification comes amid recent threats by US President Donald Trump of military intervention in Nigeria.
Reports indicate that Trump, in a statement posted on Truth Social on Saturday, demanded that the Nigerian government immediately halt the alleged killings of Christians, warning that the US “may very well go into that now disgraced country, ‘guns-a-blazing,’ to completely wipe out the Islamic Terrorists.”
While some Nigerians welcomed the development, others, including human rights activist and former presidential candidate Omoyele Sowore, cautioned against embracing the prospect of US military intervention.
He argued that, although Trump’s rhetoric about protecting Christians from persecution might appeal to some, history shows that US military actions often result in greater instability.
