PFN President Rejects Proposed Bus Preaching Ban, Vows Christians Will Defy Law

The President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), Bishop Wale Oke, has strongly criticised a proposed bill seeking to prohibit preaching in commercial buses, declaring that Christians will continue to evangelise regardless of any law passed by the National Assembly.

Speaking during a church service on Sunday, Oke described the proposed legislation as an attempt to restrict the Christian faith and vowed that members of the PFN would not comply with such a directive if it eventually becomes law.

The cleric insisted that preaching the gospel is a divine responsibility entrusted to Christians and cannot be suspended by any government policy or legislation.

According to him, believers have a biblical obligation to spread the message of salvation wherever opportunities exist, including in commercial vehicles and other public places.

“Make all the stadiums in Nigeria become prisons; if you want to enforce that law, we are coming. We will break that law,” Oke declared.

He cited the Great Commission in the Bible, saying Jesus Christ instructed His followers to preach the gospel to every creature and that no earthly authority could overturn that command.

“Our Master told us to go into the world and preach the gospel to every creature. You sit somewhere there, and you are saying we shouldn’t preach in buses. We will preach in buses! We will preach everywhere! Because you are making evil decrees. We will rather obey God than man,” he added.

The PFN president also questioned the priorities of lawmakers, accusing them of concentrating on regulating religious preaching while more pressing national security challenges remain unresolved.

He argued that the government should focus its attention on combating violent crimes, including terrorism, banditry, kidnapping and rape, rather than targeting citizens engaged in peaceful religious activities.

“You don’t go after killers; you are not going after those beheading; you are not going after rapists; you are not going after kidnappers. You are not going after bandits who are unlawfully carrying arms. You are going after us who are preaching the message of peace that changes people’s lives,” he said.

The proposed legislation has continued to generate reactions from religious groups and members of the public, with critics arguing that any restriction on peaceful evangelism could raise concerns about freedom of religion and expression as guaranteed under Nigeria’s Constitution.