Abiara, who spoke with The PUNCH on the telephone on Tuesday, however, prayed that God forgive those behind the rumour.

“Nothing happened to me. At least you know I am alive since you’re speaking to me. People are just talking nonsense. I pray God forgives them.”

In a separate statement, the cleric said it was unfortunate that the fake news emanated from a journalist.

“This is a false story and it is shocking that a journalist can publish a lie without proper vetting of the information.  A journalist whose job is to write true stories should not engage in this kind of false information.

“This caused a lot of consternation all over the world.  Fake news is not the way to gain readership or follower-ship.  We hereby demand a retraction or apology from the publication posted on the same blog within 24 hours to avoid any other legal action,” Abiara said.