A Federal High Court in Lagos has revoked the bail previously granted to gospel singer and former Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries (MFM) chorister Ayotunde Richards, following allegations of contempt of court.
The judge, Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa, also ordered the arrest of blogger Funke Ashekun, directing that she be brought before the court over allegedly libellous publications.
The orders were made during proceedings in a criminal case filed by the Nigeria Police against the ex-MFM chorister for criminal defamation of the General Overseer of Daniel Olukoya. Richards faces a 12-count charge that includes conspiracy, cyberbullying, libel, and defamation.
According to the police prosecutor, Nosa Uhumwangho, the alleged offences were committed between December 2023 and February 2024, through posts on a social media platform called Moment of Truth.
The posts reportedly included captions such as “Daniel Olukoya, the Police Pastor,” “Mountain of Police and Alagbon Ministries,” and alleged that Olukoya “doesn’t behave like a pastor at all.”
The prosecution argued that these acts violate Sections 27 and 24(1)(b)(2)(a)(i) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act, 2015.
The ex-MFM chorister initially pleaded not guilty and was granted bail. However, the prosecutor later drew the court’s attention to what he described as scandalous social media posts made by Ashekun in which Richards was tagged.
One post, titled “The judge delivered a strong message to Olukoya in court today,” allegedly misrepresented the judge’s remarks during the proceedings.
Counsel to Richards, Ademola Adewale, attempted to distance his client from the posts, but the court deemed the explanation unsatisfactory.
In a bench ruling, Justice Lewis-Allagoa noted that Richards had acknowledged in his affidavit that Ashekun’s posts did not accurately reflect what occurred in court and that he had been tagged in the publication.
As a result, Richards’ bail was revoked and will remain withdrawn until Ashekun is either arrested and brought before the court, or deletes the posts and issues a formal apology.
The case has been adjourned to April 29, 2026, for further proceedings
