THE MAJOR REASON PROPHET AYO BABALOLA WAS JAILED IN 1932

Apostle Ayo Babalola was renowned for revivals and soul transforming crusades throughout his lifetime. A native of Odo-Owa now in Kwara State of Nigeria; he was devoted solely to the propagation of the gospel, anywhere and everywhere he was led by the Holy Spirit. There are several persecutions that the elects are to face for giving their all to Christ Jesus, and for also confessing him as their Lord and saviour. This the Lord has affirmed in the book of John 16:33 of the evident cause for persecution, that all believers who are deeply involved in him would face for the cause of the gospel.

Apostle Ayo Babalola’s ministry was not limited to the western part of colonial Nigeria alone, it spreads throughout the nation. He like Apostle Paul, travelled far and wide, even to the far coastal parts of the nation. Part of his mandate was to rid the society and the people of diabolical powers and the beliefs of the occults, which transcends mere fetish dealings and traditional medicines alone but also in the areas of witchcraft and wizardry. The colonial government of then, with the Church Missionary Society, CMS, as its religious arm, were staunchly against the activities of the Aladura movement in which Babalola had become a prominent figure. Two years before 1932, the year of Babalola’s imprisonment, a great miracle of diverse categories were wrought by God through him in the 1930’s revival at Oke ooye Ilesa, in the present Osun State of Nigeria.

A warrant of arrest was issued against him in 1932, as a result of his ministration against witches, which has attracted a great uproar in Otuo, a town in then Benin in the present Edo State of Nigeria. He was accused of being involved in preaching against and exorcising those possessed of witchcraft. He was sentenced to six months in prison. This was majorly sentimental, as the major reasons for his arrest and sentence to jail were baseless. This Apostle Ayo Babalola accepted with faith, having been informed of the Lord beforehand of the incident, which was eventually targeted to the glory of God, as affirmed in Romans 8:28.

The envy of the colonial government and the CMS, with the local natives, also contributed to the persecution that he suffered. He was successful in performing several miracles in the prison, including the conversion of souls and this also spread to the authorities of the prisons who were positively touched by his ministration. He was released after the end of his terms in jail.