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Pastor Taiwo Odukoya: Times And Life of Fountain Of Life Church Founder

Published

2 years ago

August 8, 2023

Editor

The founder of Fountain of Life Church, Pastor Taiwo Odukoya, died on Monday in the United States, according to the church statement on Tuesday.

Here are key moments of the late pastor:

Taiwo Odukoya was born on 15 June 1956 in the city of Kaduna, northern Nigeria.

He graduated from the University of Ibadan, where he held a degree in petroleum engineering in 1981.

As a petroleum engineer, he started work at the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) in April 1982 after the compulsory one-year National Youth Service Corp (NYSC) scheme.

In 1980, Odukoya met Bimbo Williams at the University of Ibadan and the two began a relationship that led to their marriage in 1984.

Taiwo and Bimbo Odukoya co-founded The Fountain of Life Church in 1992 and the marriage produced three children.

The Church has several missions in South Africa, the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland, Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, the Republic of Benin, Côte d’Ivoire, the Republic of Benin, and Togo.

On 10 December 2005, Bimbo Odukoya, along with 102 other people, died on the crashed Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145.

On 5 January 2010, five years later, Taiwo Odukoya got married again to Rosemary Simangele Zulu from South Africa and the union produced two boys.

In 2014, nine years after the death of his first wife, Odukoya readdressed the matter of the plane crash that made him a widower. He claimed that pastors are well advised to use private jets: such aircraft better facilitate pastoral ministry and are a safer means of travel than commercial flights.

In November 2021, Odukoya lost his second wife to cancer.

Odukoya proclaimed a firm belief in the role of the church in the community and expresses it through several outreach projects including a hospital, an orphanage, a school for destitute children, a farm, a water project which offers boreholes at strategic locations for people who have no access to clean and portable water and a skill acquisition and entrepreneurial institute for the less privileged.

On April 19, 1997, Taiwo Odukoya established Discovery for Men and Discovery for Women, non-denominational outreaches to men and women designed to help them maximize their potential.

These outreaches reach out to hundreds of thousands of men and women annually through quarterly rallies, mentorship programs, and a vocational center to equip them with technical and practical life skills.

Related Topics:Dead Odukoya Pastor Odukoya

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Boko Haram Once Nominated Muhammadu Buhari As Negotiator – Jonathan Revealed

Published

4 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

Former President Goodluck Jonathan on Friday, disclosed that Boko Haram insurgents once nominated the late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari as their negotiator.

Jonathan said Boko Haram chose Buhari to negotiate with the Nigerian government on their behalf.

He made the disclosure while speaking at the public presentation of Scars, a book authored by former Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Lucky Irabor (retd.), in Abuja.

Jonathan said the insurgents named Buhari after his then-administration set up several committees to explore dialogue with the group.

Jonathan said: “One of the committees we set up then, the Boko Haram nominated Buhari to lead their team to negotiate with the government.

“So I was feeling that, oh, if they nominated Buhari to represent them and had a discussion with the government committee, then when Buhari took over, it could have been an easy way to negotiate with them and they would have handed over their guns. But it was still there till today.”

Jonathan noted that the inability of Buhari to eradicate Boko Haram terrorists showed that the crisis was more complex than often portrayed.

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Edo: Pandemonium As NDLEA Operatives Chase Escaping Driver With Shooting

Published

6 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

There was pandemonium at Oka Market, Upper Sakponba Road, Benin City, Friday, as operatives of the State Command of Nigerian Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) shot sporadically in chase of an escaping driver.

In the course of the commotion, traders and residents took to their heels, probably to avoid being hit by stray bullets, while others were confused, not sure of what caused the sporadic gunshots.

The sporadic gunshots which lasted more than five minutes at the gate of the NDLEA Head Office, by Oka Market, followed a hot chase of an articulated vehicle driver who was said to have brushed their (NDLEA) vehicle.

The driver, who reportedly brushed the NDLEA vehicle refused to stop for negation, which prompted officers at the scene to alert their colleagues who waited at the alert.

According to eyewitnesses, as the escaping articulated driver approached the NDLEA office, officers who were said to have been alerted by their colleagues pursuing the trailer began to shoot.

Seven of the tyres of the trailer were deflated by bullets of the NDLEA operatives yet the driver refused to stop.

The officers continued to shoot while pursuing him, until he was caught.

A source said that the driver brushed their vehicle on the way, and that every effort by the officers to stop him so they could settle the matter proved abortive; hence the gunshots and deflation of the tires.

“It was a simple thing; they jammed our men, but the officers tried to stop him so that they could settle, but the driver refused to stop. That is why the men have been shooting to stop him. Even after bursting about seven tires, he was still running, but we caught him and they are bringing him back to our office,” he concluded.

Calls and messages sent to the commander, Edo State NDLEA Command, Mr. Mitchell Ofoyeju, were not responded to as at when filing this.

News

JUST IN: Court Bars Police From Enforcing Tinted Glass Regulation

Published

8 hours ago

October 3, 2025

Editor

The Federal High Court sitting in Warri has issued an order directing the Nigeria Police Force and the Inspector-General of Police to maintain the status quo in the ongoing case concerning the controversial tinted glass permit.

The case, Suit No. FHC/WR/CS/103/2025: John Aikpokpo-Martins v. Inspector-General of Police & Nigeria Police Force, came up for hearing today.

Delivering the interim order, the Court directed the police authorities to respect judicial processes pending further proceedings in the matter.

Confirming the development, Kunle Edun, SAN, who led the legal team, noted that the directive is a major step in ensuring that the rule of law is upheld while the substantive issues in the case are being determined.

Details of the ruling and the next adjourned date are expected shortly.

Further updates coming soon…