OWN CORRESPONDENT
The United Methodist Church (UMC)’s Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa, arrived in Nigeria on August 21, 2024, to meet with UMC members and facilitate the election of a new Nigerian Bishop who was initially detained in Yola, Adamawa State, and subsequently transferred to Abuja on allegations of intentions to promote same-sex marriage in that country is now facing deportation to Zimbabwe after Nigerian authorities are saying he entered their country using a wrong visa.
Initial reports said his detention is linked to internal disputes within the UMC in Nigeria. The former Bishop, John Wesley Yohanna, who resigned to join the Global Methodist Church (GMC), is alleged to have orchestrated the detention to hinder the election process and consolidate his control over the Church’s assets.
“After widespread protests from people coming from diverse backgrounds, Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa is now set to be repatriated to Zimbabwe on new charges of having entered Nigeria using a wrong visa. The allegations are no longer about promoting same-sex marriages as initially reported. The good thing is that the Bishop will be sent back to his country without being harmed,” a Spiked Online Media correspondent in Abuja told this publication.