The Police in Ondo State has confirmed that no fewer than 77 people were rescued from suspected abduction at The Whole Bible Deliverance Church in Ondo Town, Ondo West Local Government Area of the State, over the weekend.
SP Funmilayo Odunlami, the command’s spokesperson, made this known in a statement on Saturday, July 2, 2022, in Akure.
Information made available to journalists earlier said the children, numbering over 40, were locked up in an underground cell in the church after allegedly being kidnapped.
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In a viral video, the children who reportedly could not remember their names, were driven to the police station by security operatives in a patrol car.
“There are kidnapped children recovered in the underground cell of a church in Valentino Area of Ondo,” a voice was heard saying in one of the viral videos online.
Subsequent reports emerging, however, revealed that the kidnapped victims were 77 in total. The victims included 26 children, 8 teenagers, and 43 adults.
Speaking at the police headquarters along Igbatoro Akure, the arrested clergyman, Anifowose, said he received the instruction from God that he should camp the members until Christ’s second coming.
“I was the one that received the instruction from God that the people can stay in the church and wait for his second coming. And my members were waiting for the second coming of Jesus when the policemen invaded the church and arrested us,” Anifowose said.