Charge my husband to court, wife of same sex advocate tells Police

Two months after her husband was allegedly whisked away by security agents, friends and family of Mr. Frank Okoli have not recovered from the shock and pain that hit them.

In a Gestapo manner, Policemen numbering about ten invaded his church on January 30, shot sporadically into the air, inflicted various degrees of injury on him and left him in a pool of blood, his wife, Mrs. Okolo, lamented.

Frank Okoli,50, father of four children is the founder of Fresh Fire International Ministry, an affiliate of House of Rainbow Metropolitan Church, founded by Rev. Jide Macaulay.

Narrating how her husband was abducted, Mrs. Okoli had this to say:

“On the 30th of January, 2018 at about 4:45pm, a group of seven uniformed police officers and three plainclothes policemen invaded the Ministry while shooting sporadically in the air.

Rev. Frank Favour Okoli and members of the Ministry were descended on and beaten with gun butts and any material they can lay their hands on. After these merciless and callous beating, he was taken alongside two members of his ministry to an unknown location.”

She described her experience as harrowing since the day her husband was taken away, adding that efforts to know where he was taken has so far hit a brick wall. But the wife of the Pastor has one wish : To be back again in the arms of her husband.

According to the mother of four, it wasn’t the first time security agents would violently attack her husband. Going down memory lane, she said their ordeal started on February 5 2014, in Gishiri, a suburb of Abuja when over thirty men armed to the teeth unleashed terror on her family. Hear her:

“It was while they were preparing to eat their lunch, that over 30 men armed with daggers, cudgel, iron rod, matches, clubs, horsewhips and metal wire alongside five armed Policemen stormed the house, descended on him, and start beating him saying ” we will kill you today”, ” you will get 14 years in prison”.

“He was stripped naked and they made an attempt to cut his manhood. It was during this struggle that a deep cut was inflicted on the inside of his right thigh and the left side of his lower abdomen.

“The most senior of the officers’ then called for or a commercial photographer to take photo of his nudity before taking him away whilst soaked in blood. He was detained for four days, and only released when I paid #100,000.00.

“Because of this and with the realisation that our lives are in grave danger, we relocated to Ketu, Lagos. He was admitted and treated of the multiple wounds they inflicted on him at a hospital here.

“There was relative peace for some time before another round of threats, harassment, intimidation and extortion from security agencies started.”

Speaking on why her husband has been regular target of security agents, Mrs. Okoro said her husband is being persecuted for his belief and campaign that the rights of homosexuals to be respected.

While the same sex evangelist’s relatives admit he must have ran afoul of the law, they appeal and demand the release or prosecution of the same sex evangelist.

Meanwhile, the wife of the gay rights activist says her husband is not gay. She said, “ My husband is a happily married man and an evangelist who strongly believes that every human being deserves respect, dignity and rights that are inalienable to them.’’

She is therefore urging the international community and other well meaning organizations and individuals to prevail on the security agencies to release him or prosecute him.