Bishop Obinim granted GHC 100k bail

Controversial pastor of the International God’s Way Church, Bishop Daniel Obinim, has been granted bail after he was arraigned at a Magistrate Court on Tuesday, May 19.

He was arrested by the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) and charged for the publication of false news and forgery of a document, contrary to sections 208 and 159 of the Criminal and other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29) respectively.

“He has however been granted bail in the sum of GHC 100, 000 with three sureties, one to be justified,” Head of Public Affairs at the CID, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Juliana Obeng, noted in a release on the same day.

The case has been adjourned to June 1, 2020.

A statement by police said Bishop Obinim was arrested on Tuesday after a court issued a warrant for his apprehension.

Bishop Obinim is also under investigation for several other offences.

Social media was flooded about a week ago with commentators indicating Bishop Obinim had collapsed and was hospitalised after a similar attempt to have him arrested.

The police, however, stated that an earlier video circulating on social media on Bishop Obinim’s arrest should be disregarded because it “has no relation with the suspect’s arrest on Tuesday, May 19, 2020.”

Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, who has accused Bishop Obinim of various criminal offences, said he officially reported the pastor to the police to clamp down on his nefarious activities.

This will not be the first time the pastor would be getting on the wrong side of the law.

Bishop Obinim, and two of his associate pastors, Kingsley Baah and Solomon Abraham, were fined totalling GHC 12,000 for physically assaulting two teenagers in 2018.

He has been accused of various human rights abuses in the past, including stamping his feet on the tummy of a pregnant woman ostensibly to deliver her from spiritual attack.

He was also accused of attacking and vandalising equipment at Accra-based Hot FM but was acquitted and discharged by an Accra High Court in 2015.