Nigerian Church In Manchester, UK Sells Olive Oil For Cancer & HIV Cure

Nov 5, 2012 - Nigerian Church InManchester, UK Sells Olive Oil For Cancer & HIV Cure HIV and Cancer patients have been told to buy bottles of ordinary blackcurrent squash and olive oil for £14 by a church claiming the blessed goods are a ‘miracle cure’ for their illnesses . The Victorious Pentecostal Assembly ( VPA ) sells the over-inflated goods with the claimthat once blessed by a pastor they can cure a host of serious health conditions. Undercover reporters found members of the VPA congregation in Manchester were told that if a terminally-ill person drank a mixture of the specially blessed litre of squash and 500ml bottle of olive oil, which were being soldat double their real value, their ailments would disappear. A church leader who identified himself as Pastor Mbenga also claimed to have previously cured diabetes and a brain tumour using the concoction. He said the mixture would ‘do what no man can do’ through divine intervention and guaranteed the cancer would be cured. ‘God will take over with divine intervention and the cancer will disappear,’ Pastor Mbenga told the reporters from Manchester Evening News. The church’s founder, Pastor Alex Omokudu, who lives in a £1.8million mansion in Hornchurch, Essex, has also regularly appeared in television adverts claiming, ‘doctors do not have the answer – we have got the answer. We have got the answer to healing’. The products sell in several supermarkets for less than £6. Now a cancer charity has warned the practice is deliberately targeting the vulnerable and could stop patients from seeking proper medical treatment. He said: ‘It is shocking that anyone could exploit people with cancer in this way. ‘We would encourage anyone affected by cancer to be cautious of any alternative therapies, especially those thatclaim to be “miracle cures”. ‘If a therapist encourages themto use an alternative treatment instead of conventional medicine prescribed by a qualified doctor, we would also advise caution.’ Dr Michelle Harvie, research dietician at the Genesis Cancer Prevention Centre at University Hospital South Manchester Trust, urged patients to always seek the advice of medical professionals. She said: ‘ When people are suffering from cancer they areoften desperate and will seek out alternative or a miraculouscure when it is often the more mundane treatments will do them the most good. ‘The problem is none of this is based on any real evidence, but sufferers are often being told what they want to hear rather than what is medical fact. ‘The sad fact is when someone is suffering from cancer they can often be at their most vulnerable and they want to do something to take control, but it is really important they adhere to treatments planned by their doctors and lead a healthy lifestyle.’ The church opened in Manchester last year and is the first northern base of the VPA, which has three other churches in Hackney, Luton and Barking. The organisation has previouslybeen fined by Ofcom for making similar claims on its television channel. Believe TV, which is available on Sky and via the internet, has twicebeen blasted by the regulator forrunning promotional campaigns with testimonies from people claiming to have been cured of HIV, cancer and infertility. The church may also be breaking the law, as any advertisement, including verbal claims, promoting products as treatments or cures for cancer is illegal under the Cancer Act 1939. Trading standards officers have also been told about the practice and promised to look over the case. Pastor Mbenga however said he was not aware the church was breaking the law. He said: ‘It is the word of God, it is in the scriptures that God can heal these illnesses and that is the message we are passing on to people. ‘I wasn’t aware of that law, but we live in a free society and if thisis what people believe then people should be free to believe in it and carry out their faith. ‘We have seen divine intervention in the past where people have been healed of terrible diseases and believe that God has the supernatural power to bring about miracles. ‘This is what we believe and weare just trying to help people, trying to help them live a better life by giving them the power through God to make changes in their lives. We are not hurting anyone.’ Victorious Pentecostal Assembly leaders have previously landed in trouble over claims of curing serious illnesses. The church, based in Barking, Essex, was founded in 2004 by Pastor Alex Omokudu. His wife Patricia is a listed director of The Light Academy which runs religious channel Believe TV from the same address. The channel has twice been blasted by TV regulator Ofcomfor making claims which ‘exploited’ vulnerable viewers. The channel was first rapped in August 2011 after a broadcast featuring Pastor Omokudu in which people claimed they had been cured of serious illnesses bythe church.