Catholic priest, Ejike Mbaka, has alleged that there is a plot by “evil people” to launch attacks against him in the year 2024.
Mr Mbaka raised the alarm while delivering his cross over night message for the year 2023 on Monday at the Adoration Ground, Enugu.
The cleric said God revealed to him that the attacks against him this New Year would be strong.
He did not, however, mention names of the “evil people”.
“The Lord demands that all of you should back Father Mbaka with prayers because of the level of attack that is coming to me in 2024. I need your prayer back-up,” he told thousands of his followers in a mixture of Igbo and English languages.
Mr Mbaka, who is the spiritual director of the ministry, said he had thought that he would not witness any attacks this year, but that God told him that some wicked people were planning evil against him.
“So please, I am the Mbaka. Pray for me. I do not know the evil people that the Holy Spirit was telling me about, but God knows them. He (Holy Spirit) told me that the evil people are harbouring grievances against me. He said the evil people had vowed not to rest until they deal with me,” he stated.
Background
This is not the first time Mr Mbaka would be raising such an alarm.
In his New Year message on 1 January 2022, the cleric hadalleged that there was a plot to kill him after his row with the Catholic Diocese of Enugu in May 2021.
The row began when Mr Mbaka, who was a staunch supporter of the then Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari, in a surprise move, criticised the then president, asking him to resign or be impeached for “bad governance”.
The presidency responded with an accusation that the priest was angry because his request for government contracts was rebuffed.
The exchange was the last straw for the Catholic Bishop of Enugu Diocese, Callistus Onaga who had repeatedly cautioned Mr Mbaka against meddling in politics.
Mr Onaga, consequently, shut down the Adoration Ministry for one month before the issue was later resolved with Mr Mbaka later apologising to the bishop and other Catholic faithful of the diocese.
The outspoken priest is known for his frequent criticism of government officials and politicians across Nigeria in the past, even during the military regime.
Mr Mbaka had in June 2022, prophesied that Peter Obi, the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate would not win the 2023 presidential election because he was a “stingy man.”
Many Nigerians, including the Catholic Diocese of Enugu, criticised him over “the prophetic declaration” on the LP candidate.
As part of a disciplinary measure against him for the scathing remark against the LP candidate, the leadership of the diocese, in October that year, directed Mr Mbaka to step down as the spiritual director of his Adoration Ministry in Enugu, and proceed to a monastery in Los Angeles, United States.
The cleric later apologised to the LP candidate and his supporters, saying his intent was not to malign him.
Mr Onaga later banned church members from attending services at the Adoration Ministry, following the controversial prophecy.
The ban was lifted, three months after. The church then asked Mr Mbaka to step down and embark on a “solitary journey” to the monastery.
The cleric only returned to Nigeria from the US in January 2023 and resumed activities at the ministry
