HOW AYOBABALOLA WAS IMPRISONED BY THE NIGERIAN COLONIAL GOVERNMENT

 Joseph Ayo Babalola was one of the greatest healing revivalists raised by God in Africa. He was born on 25, April 1904 in present day Kwara state and was brought up as an Anglican. He attended elementary school at Lagos

Babalola had no ministerial experience when he was called by God except that he was the son of an Anglican priest. He was just 24 years old and was working as a motor mechanic and steamroller driver for the Public Works Department, which was then under the control of Great Britain. While working at the Igbara- Oke road construction in 1928, his steamroller stopped working and for a whole week, he could not fix the roller and could not figure out anything that was wrong with it. 

Then on October 9, while making futile attempts to repair the roller, a voice audible as the roar of thunder called him into service. This encounter was followed by seven days of fasting and prayer in a secluded place, after which he burst forth with power. He healed a boy that was dumb, delivered a woman who had been pregnant for four years by giving her a cup of sanctified water to drink and then by prophecy, he dethroned a local king who withstood the message of the gospel.

The next year 1929, Ayo Babalola joined the Faith Tabernacle Congregation, a local mission church with headquarters in the United States. In July 1930, his fame went abroad when he raised a boy to life after praying and jingling his bell three times over the dead boy. The news of this miracle spread throughout the town and everyone gathered. This led to the great Oke-Oye revival, a revival that was marked with unprecedented miracles, signs and wonders. The dumb spoke, the mentally insane were restored, several Muslim and idol worshippers surrendered to Christ and were converted. Within five days, over a million people had trooped to the revival grounds.

This Oke-Oye revival was not curtailed, it spread further to other locations, to Ibadan, Ilesha, Efon Alaaye and Ghana. This consequently led to severe trials and persecutions for Faith Tabernacle Congregation. The colonial government, fearing that they were losing the people to the servants of God cooked up a list of allegations in order to contain and kill the revival. They accused the revival of being a lawless movement and Babalola was apprehended and locked up in prison. Leaders of the Faith Tabernacle were subjected to severe victimizations and molestations. Their place of worship was locked up and services were banned. Some of them were detained in police cells and later arraigned before the court for alleged criminal offenses such as disturbing the peace of the people with vigil prayers, administration of "sanctified" but unhygienic water to people for healing, dissuading people from using modern medicine and others.

In utter frustration, the Faith Tabernacle congregation wrote to their leaders in America to come to their aid. Unfortunately, they refused to help, giving the baseless excuse that "it was against their practice to go to other countries for the work of the gospel unless through Christian literatures only. Besides that, the Faith Tabernacle in America held conflicting viewpoints with the Nigerian Faith Tabernacle concerning the workings of the spirit. The Faith Tabernacle in America believed that speaking in tongues was demonic while the Faith Tabernacle in Nigeria believed in speaking in tongues. At the end, they could not help and the Faith Tabernacle in Nigeria disaffiliated from them.

Shortly after, they learned about the Apostolic Mission in Great Britain, a mission church which held similar views with them about the workings of the Holy Spirit. The leaders of the Faith Tabernacle wrote quickly to them requesting for aid. Their letter was picked up and answered instantly. In September 1931, the Apostolic Church Mission in Great Britain sent three delegates to Nigeria, Pastor D.P Williams, Pastor A. Turnbull and W.J. Williams. They had a dialogue with the colonial government and afterwards, Babalola was released after 6 months in detention. The Faith Tabernacle was then deposed and a new denomination called The Apostolic Church (TAC) was established in 1931.