The General Overseer of the Synagogue Church of All Nations (SCOAN) Prophet T.B. Joshua on Thursday claimed the suspected poisoning of Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny fulfils one of the prophecies he made for this year.

In a statement, Joshua said Navalny’s poisoning “clearly coincides” with the eighth in a series of prophecies he made on December 28, 2019, concerning the year 2020.

The ‘prophecies’ were termed ‘The Year of Humility’. “Something will surface. There is a ladder to go up – if this is averted.”

In a video of the said 2019 prophecy service available on YouTube, Joshua said: “Russia should pray for their leader to avert his being on the sickbed.”

Although the prophecy appears to be more concerned with an official Russian national leader, the church noted that Navalny is the country’s main opposition leader and one of President Vladimir Putin’s fiercest critics.

Navalny, 44, has been in a medically induced coma since August 20th, 2020 after he fell suddenly ill on a flight back to Moscow from Siberia. He was subsequently airlifted to Germany for emergency treatment.

“This is disturbing information about the attempted murder through poisoning against a leading Russian opposition figure,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel told a news conference, disclosing that traces of Novichok, a Soviet-era chemical weapon, was found in his system.

While Russia is denying involvement in the attack, European Union officials are weighing up how to respond and the appropriate action to be taken against Russia.

Navalny is well-known to be Putin’s biggest political rival with the Wall Street Journal describing him as “the man Vladimir Putin fears most”.

He has been arrested on several occasions for his activist activities and gained international prominence for organising large demonstrations against corruption in Putin’s regime.