Ondo Pastor In Police Net Over Kidnap Of 77 Persons

A pastor in one of the Pentecostal churches in Ondo State, David Anifowoshe, and his assistant have been arrested for allegedly kidnapping 77 persons.
The victims include 54 adults and 23 kids.
Anifowoshe, who is the pastor of Whole Bible Deliverance Church, located in Valentino Area of Ondo West Local Government Area of the state, was arrested by the police when some people in the neighbourhood raised an alarm.
According to sources in the area, the victims were found in an underground apartment of the church last Friday evening.
The Tide learnt that the pastor and his assistant camped the victims in the church under the pretence that they were waiting for the second coming of Jesus Christ.
Parents of the children were said to have forcefully mobilised themselves to the church, inviting the police to arrest the pastor and his assistant.
Some of the children and their parents were also said to be attending the church prior to the incident.
According to sources, the police promptly stepped into the situation by arresting the culprit and other members of the church following a tip-off by parents who reported the case to the police in Ondo town.
The incident has also gone viral on social media. In a 40-second video, children were seen in a patrol vehicle of the police who rescued them.
“They have kidnapped children found in the underground cell of a church in the Valentino Area of Ondo. The pastor and some members of the church have been arrested and were also in the patrol van of the police”, a voice said in the video.
Ondo State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Funmilayo Odunlami, who confirmed the incident while briefing journalists in Akure, said the parents raised the alarm and the police sprang into action.
Odunlami urged the people to remain calm, assuring that the command had begun proper investigation into the matter “and the mystery behind the crime would be unraveled”.