Following the decision of the Founder and Senior Pastor of popular Pentecostal church, the Commonwealth Of Zion Assembly (COZA), Biodun Fatoyinbo, to step down from ministering in the church over the widely reported rape allegation against him, not a few have attempted to hazard a guess on the “spiritual father” who, Pastor Poju Oyemade of Covenant Christian Centre hinted in his statement, convinced Fatoyinbo to take a break from the pulpit pending the outcome of investigations on the allegation.
The thought-provoking rape allegation made against Fatoyinbo by Busola Dakolo, a celebrity photographer and wife of famous musician, Timi Dakolo, have triggered a lot of reactions from many Nigerians of diverse backgrounds with many coming heavily on the flamboyant preacher, Fatoyinbo, for gross lack of probity. 
Of particular interest amongst public reactions to the shocking allegation was the statement released by Oyemade in which he hinted that a spiritual leader in the Pentecostal movement in Nigeria with tremendous influence on Fatoyinbo had put it to the embattled preacher to temporarily withdraw from the leadership of COZA amongst other remedies to the rape saga. And some hours after Oyemade’s comment, Fatoyinbo announced that he would be taking “a leave of absence” from the church.
“I contacted the spiritual leader in the Body of Christ I believe Pastor Biodun defers in authority to, to wade into the issue and bring about a decision. 
“He informed me his position. It was that Pastor Biodun (Fatoyinbo) should first step down from the pulpit indefinitely, suspend 7 days of glory and make a public statement. These he made known to him directly in an hour.
“This should serve as the first step. He informed me that was the position and asked my opinion”, Oyemade said.
Ever since this development and the surprising swiftness with which Fatoyinbo acceded to the suggestion of the said spiritual father, which led to the suspension of his ministration at COZA, there has been increased curiosity as to the identity of the powerful “father in the Lord” who convinced Fatoyinbo to step down.
As such, CHECKOUT made extensive inquiries and has reliably gathered that the Senior Pastor of the Kingsway International Christian Centre (KICC) London, Matthew Ashimolowo, is the “spiritual father” whose intervention resulted in Fatoyinbo’s stepping down from COZA.
Every keen observer and follower of events in Nigeria’s Pentecostal circles would easily attest to the very cordial relationship that exists between Ashimolowo and Fatoyinbo, particularly how highly Fatoyinbo regards and adores Ashimolowo.
And the bubbly pastor is ever proud to let the public know the tremendous reverence he has for Ashimolowo who Fatoyinbo fondly calls the “Kingdom General”.
In return, Ashimolowo, who has been maintaining a father-son relationship with Fatoyinbo, has been providing strategic platforms and contacts, particularly in international Pentecostal Christian circles, to the youthful preacher to deepen his spiritual growth and experience.
In enriching this worthy exposure and development, Fatoyinbo is usually enlisted as one of the speakers of the many high-powered international conferences and gatherings organized by Ashimolowo’s KICC.
Just last May, Fatoyinbo was featured amongst the top speakers of the KICC’s Spring Bible Conference 2019 tagged “Audacious”, which was held at the church’s headquarters in London.
But our findings revealed that Ashimolowo felt terribly embarrassed and disturbed by the weight of the allegation against Fatoyinbo.
We were reliably informed that the elderly pastor couldn’t hold back his profound discontent when he called Fatoyinbo to step down amongst other measures he suggested would be effective in getting to the truth of the shocking scandal.
Before this time, especially when the rape allegation first broke, a lot of Nigerians had expressed shock over the silence of the leaders of pentecostal churches and Christian associations in Nigeria on the matter.
No doubt, the remarkable intervention of Ashimolowo, which obviously is a right step towards unraveling all the facts of the case, and the statements of notable pastors like Oyemade and Sam Adeyemi on the scandal are meaningful indications that some Christian leaders are not afraid to demand for the truth and justice on the critical issue.
