Founder of the Living Faith Church, David Oyedepo, has told members of his congregation to hand over his phone number to kidnappers if they are abducted, insisting such encounters would end in their release.
Speaking during a sermon that has since gone viral, the cleric said his intervention in past abduction cases reflected what he described as spiritual authority over such situations.
He urged members to recognise and operate in what he called the same force.
“If anybody picks you, give them my number. If he is not cut down, then I’m not sent. You carry the same force if you discover it”, he said.
Oyedepo referenced an earlier incident involving a kidnapped pastor of the church, saying he personally intervened during a ransom call.
He claimed he issued a direct ultimatum to the abductors during the conversation.
“One time, one of our pastors was kidnapped. When they called, I said, ‘Give me the phone and I told them, in 24 hours, if you don’t release him, you are dead’,” he said.
According to him, the situation changed shortly after the exchange, leading to the pastor’s release.
The bishop also cited another case involving a female member of the church, saying she regained freedom after speaking boldly to her captors.
“One of our daughters was captured somewhere. She told them that ‘my father said I’m getting out of here, latest by 7 am’, and the kidnappers started cutting themselves”, he added.