A renowned cleric and Senior Pastor of Life Bible Church, Akure, Pastor Moses Kayode Adaramola, has cautioned Nigerians against using falsified or invalid documents for international travels.

Mr Adaramola, who is also the president of Harvest of Nations Ministry, gave the warning on Sunday while reacting to a viral online report alleging that a Nigerian pastor was deported from Canada for falsifying his travel documents.

The cleric, while distancing himself from the report, also condemned the use of his personal photograph to illustrate the story, describing it as false and embarrassing.

“As a man of God, I don’t believe in falsifying documents or telling lies just because you want to go to another country. If you must travel abroad, do it the right way – don’t cut corners,” he said. 

Mr Adaramola lamented that many Nigerians who travel abroad through illegal or deceitful means often end up facing hardship. 

He described Nigeria as a blessed nation with abundant opportunities, despite the current economic challenges.

“Those who ‘Japa’, it is not always the best. I’ve been to many of these countries, except Canada, and I see how some Nigerians are struggling. The economic situation is not peculiar to Nigeria alone,” the cleric said. 

Mr Adaramola also expressed shock over the use of his picture in the report about the deported pastor, which mentioned another name entirely.

“Someone called my attention to it that my picture was used in a story about a pastor deported from Canada for trying to bribe the police. 

“But the name in that story isn’t mine – they mentioned one Lucky Bidemi. I’ve never been to Canada; I don’t even have a visa for Canada,” he stated.

Mr Adaramola, who recently marked his 70th birthday, said the incident was particularly distressing as it coincided with his milestone celebration.

“At my age, I have no reason to relocate anywhere. I’ve been travelling to the U.S. for the past 15 years, and I’ve never sought citizenship or asylum. So why would I falsify documents to go to Canada?” he stated.

He demanded that all media platforms that published his photo should immediately remove it from their reports and issue corrections.

“For any news to portray me as someone seeking asylum through falsehood is out of place. I’m deeply embarrassed by it,” Mr Adaramola stated.