The President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, Bishop Wale Oke, has condemned attacks on Catholic bishops over their criticism of the Federal Government, declaring that any assault on the bishops amounts to an attack on the entire Christian community.

Oke said the Pentecostal body fully identified with the position of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, particularly the recent warning by Catholic leaders that Nigeria was “bleeding” due to worsening insecurity across several parts of the country.

The PFN president, who spoke during an interview, specifically backed the position expressed by Cardinal John Onaiyekan during the Catholic bishops’ recent visit to President Bola Tinubu.

Reacting to criticism of the bishops, Oke asked, “Are we not bleeding? Are we not bleeding in Benue? Are we not bleeding in Southern Kaduna? Are we not bleeding in Gwoza, in Borno State? Are we not bleeding in Kwara? Are we not bleeding in Oyo State?”

He maintained that the bishops were merely speaking the truth about the security situation in the country and should not be attacked for doing so.

“Should anybody attack a Catholic bishop for saying that? That is the obvious truth,” he said.

Oke stressed that denominational differences should not be allowed to divide Christians, insisting that the church remained one despite the existence of different Christian denominations.

“The Church of Jesus Christ is one. There may be many denominations, but we have one faith, one Lord, one baptism. The Church is one. If they attack the Catholic bishops, they are attacking the whole Church,” he declared.

The PFN leader also criticised what he described as government’s failure to adequately respond to the killings and attacks affecting Christian communities in parts of the country.

He cited violence in Plateau, Southern Kaduna, Benue and Taraba, while also expressing concern over what he described as the spread of violent attacks into states including Oyo, Kwara and Edo.

Oke further took aim at the controversy surrounding the proposed amendment to the Federal Road Safety Corps Act, particularly the provision relating to preaching in commercial vehicles.

The provision, which has attracted criticism from Christian groups, reportedly prescribes a fine for bus preaching. Although the Senate has clarified that the provision was not newly introduced but had existed since 2007 and was only re-itemised in the proposed legislation, Oke insisted that it should be removed.

He vowed that Pentecostal Christians would not comply with any law prohibiting preaching in buses.

“We will break that law. Dear Senate of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, we will rather obey God than man,” Oke declared.

He said he had preached in commercial buses since 1975 without causing accidents or distracting drivers, arguing that preaching the gospel should not be criminalised.

“If you want to imprison us for preaching the gospel, we are ready. If you want to make all the stadiums in Nigeria prisons, we are ready. We would rather obey God than man,” he added.

Beyond the proposed restriction on bus preaching, Oke urged the National Assembly to address what he considered more fundamental national issues.

He particularly questioned Nigeria’s membership of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, arguing that the country joined the organisation under military rule without the consent of Nigerians.