David Oyedepo, presiding bishop of Living Faith Church Worldwide, says he will lay his bare hands on COVID-19 patients brought to him for prayer.

The clergyman, who spoke during the church’s covenant hour of prayer, asked Christians to understand that what they carry is “eternal life”, not “human life”.

“You can imagine a medical doctor, going back there to minister to coronavirus patients (documented testimony). He found something, while others are scared by everything they can see,” he said.

“Can you imagine anyone bringing coronavirus patients to me and I won’t lay hands on him? Will I wear gloves to lay hands on them? I will lay hands on them; breathe into them; embrace them. What you carry is eternal life, it’s not human life. You should know that.”

Oyedepo called out those who wear hand gloves and face masks to protect themselves from contracting the virus, wondering why they do not usually do the same while eating.

The cleric, who has constantly played down the existence of the virus, said people will realise soon “that they have been grossly deceived.”

“Someday, they will know that they have been deceived. They will all know that they have been grossly deceived,” he added.

“You’ve covered your mouth: do you cover it when you want to eat or there is no coronavirus when you are eating? I just look at it and say, ‘what is all these?’”

He added that the novel virus is a ploy by the “devil to dehumanise humanity”, noting that he would not back down on his mandate to “liberate the world”.

Despite Oyedepo’s claim, there’s currently no proven evidence that the killer virus can be cured through laying of hands.

Frankline Ndifor, a Cameroonian pastor, said to have laid hands on those infected with COVID-19 to “cure” them reportedly died of the virus weeks after.

However, Oyedepo has continued to make headlines over his criticism of the existence of the virus and government’s measures aimed at fighting the pandemic, including the closure of churches.