The association of witches under the auspices of the Advocacy for Alleged Witches (AFAW) has challenged Apostle Johnson Suleman to heal at least 1 covid-19 patient and get compensated.
This online news platform reported last week that the popular clergyman requested Government to allow Pastors heal Covid-19 patients at the infectious diseases isolation centres.
In a statement dated April 28th and signed by the founder of the Nigerian Humanist Movement, Leo Igwe, the association of witches asked Johnson Suleman to heal just one soul and get $1,000 from them.
Statement by the Movement:
“I am challenging the founder of Omega Ministries, Apostle Suleman to demonstrate his so-called gift of healing under agreed medical and scientific conditions.
“I ask Suleman to heal a person with a confirmed case of covid-19 and get a thousand US dollars. This challenge has become necessary because Apostle Suleman has in a recent video, urged the government of Nigeria to allow him and other pastors with the gift of healing into the isolation centres so they could pray and heal those who have been infected by the virus.
“This request should not go unattended. Suleman specifically said that the gifted pastors could heal 18 out of 20 covid-19 patients. This is a reasonable number, isn’t it ?
“And in a recent tweet, Apostle Suleman affirmed that (his) God was bigger than the virus. This challenge is for Suleman to heal, not 2 or 3 persons, not 10 or 15 but 1 person with a viral infection.
“For too long, people from various religious traditions have claimed to have the ability to heal all kinds of diseases, including malaria, diabetes, hepatitis and HIV/AIDS.
“Self acclaimed godmen and women have organised healing/prayer sessions where they supposedly got rid of illness through faith and prayers. This ability, if proven to be effective, could be an enormous resourse at a time like this when the world is try to contain a vicious pandemic that is ravaging many parts of the world.
“Incidentally, faith healing in Africa has largely been taken for granted. Faith Healing claims have gone unchallenged and untested. There has not been any major effort to hold African faith healers to account or get them to openly and publicly demonstrate the potency and efficacy of their healing propositions under scientific testing conditions.
“The outbreak of Covid-19 offers an ample opportunity to realise this – to test and affirm the much avowed healing gists and abilities of pastors.
“So I hereby challenge Apostle Suleman to prove that he can heal covid-19 patients through prayer. Apostle Suleman will get a thousand US dollars for any proven case of faith healing of covid-19 patient under agreed scientific conditions.
“Suleman should agree to pray for a covid-19 patient from wherever he is since going to the isolation centre without face masks and personal protective equipment is not medically permitted and would violate existing laws and regulations. After all, Jesus performed miracles at a distance (John 4:46-54). Didn’t he ? And also, the Bible enjoins belivers to pray in secret, and that the prayers would be answered (Matthew 6:6).
“So it is not necessary for Apostle Suleman or any gifted pastor to get into the isolation centres before they could pray and heal any covid-19 patient. Besides, Suleman should consider this a standing challenge, which he could accept after the vaccine has been discovered and regulations on managing #COVID19 infection have been relaxed.
“Otherwise, I challenge Apostle Suleman to heal an HIV/AIDS patient through prayers and take home a thousand US dollars.
“HIV is another viral infection that is killing many across the world. Apostle Suleman should use this window to demonstrate under medical and scientific conditions, his supernatural gift of healing.
The association of witches founder also admonished Suleman to “show Nigerians and the rest of the world that his God is truly bigger that a virus, whether it is covid-19 or HIV/AIDS.
“I hope that Suleman or any gifted pastor accepts this challenge and seizes this opportunity to demonstrate the potency and efficacy of faith healing.”