By Adedotun Aderoboye

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As some of the allegedly abducted worshippers of the Whole Bible Believer Church, Ondo, have refused to leave their pastors, more facts have emerged as to what transpired in the church.

A pastor in the Church (name withheld) has been identified as the brain behind the alleged evil perpetrated in the church and not the pastor in charge of the church.

The wife of the pastor-in-charge was said to be among those in the custody of the assistant pastor until they were forcefully freed by the combined team of security agencies last Saturday.

He was said to have camped them at the basement of the church where used condom and other incriminating things were found when security personnel bust the church.

A mother of four, who was among the victims, Mrs. Elizabeth Reuben in an interview with The Hope said the main problem of the church was the pastor.

She said the pastor surrounded himself with the book of Eden and other contraband documents as well as teaching the victims ungodly doctrines.

“The Pastor was the main problem of the church. According to what we heard, even the pastor’s wife has been living with him for some months now for reasons known to them.

“He is surrounded by people that he has brainwashed like he did to my children. He did not cater well for those he camped in the church. He made it a law that they must not eat any processed food. The people he kept in the church are not well catered for.

“We heard that items like condoms, alcohol, Book of Eden and other books that are banned in Nigeria were found in his office. We don’t know why he is keeping our children in the church by force. He may have evil plans.”

Narrating her experience, Mrs Reuben said she left the church about two months ago when she discovered that she was not comfortable with the doctrines.

She said the message of the pastor made the children not to believe in their parents but him alone.

According to her, this led to her reporting the case to all authorities concerned that led to the forceful release of the 77 victims.

Mrs. Reuben, an Ondo native but married to an Ibo man said her last born has refused to change from the doctrine impacted on him by the assistant pastor since he has been released to her last Saturday.

“My problem started when I stopped attending “Ondo Church” about two months ago because of the dangerous doctrines that I noticed were practiced in the church. The sermons of the Pastor were the cause of the problem. He made sure that the bonds between children and their parents were broken. Parents are rendered useless by him and children are taught not to reckon with their parents. What they were preaching and practicing in the church is against the word of God. So, I asked my children to stop attending the church too but they refused.

When I realized that they were determined to keep going to the church, I went to the Civil Defense office at Sabo to ask for help. They were able to help counsel my children about the dangers of going to the church. My children promised that they will stop going to the church and even wrote undertakings which made me happy. We went back to our house and everything was normal for a few days.

“To my surprise, on Monday June 22, 2022, I returned from work to find out that my children had gone back to the church. I called my daughter’s phone but she did not pick the call. She later called to tell me that they have gone back to the church and will be spending the next seven days there. I knew very well that once they are inside that church, nobody can get them out and they will not be allowed to go to school. That was how Gideon was forced to stay in the church when he was supposed to write his Mathematics examination because they told him that God did not want him to write the examination.

“I went back to the Civil Defense office and reported what has happened. A letter was drafted to explain to the church why my children should be released by the church to me. The Civil Defense officers took the letter there but were not allowed into the church. They knocked the gate for a long time but they were not allowed in and had to leave. The officers went there again but they were still not allowed in. So, they pasted the letter on the gate of the church on Wednesday.

“On Thursday, my husband and his siblings went to the church but they were not allowed into the church. So, I went back to the Civil Defense office to inform them that I will be going to the church to get my children. “They advised me not to go to the church for my own safety but I did not listen. I did not want what happened to Gideon with his Mathematics examination to repeat itself with Blessing in her Common Entrance examinations.

“On my way to the church, I stopped at Fagun Police station to inform them about my mission to Ondo church to get my children. When I got to the church, I started begging them to open the gate for me. I saw brother “Ayenbo” through the fence and begged him to at least release my daughter that will be writing Common Entrance examination. He had called me on Tuesday and told me to leave my children for God. He even promised to return the money I paid for the Common Entrance back to me just to leave my children in the church but I refused. So, he just stood there and did not respond to my request.

“So, I went to a nearby house and took a stool which I took to a side of the church. I was able to jump over the fence into the church with the aid of the stool. A member of the church named George came to where I was and started beating me. Other members of the church like Stephen, Precious, Clement joined George to beat me up. Stephen now asked them how I got into the church and they told him that I jumped over the fence. They beat me till I was tired and threw me out over the fence and I landed into another compound. The people in that compound came out to help me. I was injured in my neck and other parts of my body. It was God who did not allow me die right there. I called my family members to tell them what happened. I went back home that day to take care of myself.

“The next morning, a woman whom I have known for sometimes sent for me. She told me that she will be taking me to the CAN Chairman to report the issue. So, I was taken to the CAN chairman’s office and that was how the journey began. The chairman was worried that such a thing was happening in the community and promised to help me get my children. He immediately sent some people to accompany me to the church to get the children but they still did not open the gate for us.

The CAN chairman then involved human rights defenders in the matter but we were still not allowed in. The members of the church were looking at us outside but did not open the gate to let us in. The police were then involved in the matter by the CAN chairman and the human rights defenders. We were told that the church already has a case in court and had been warned not to keep children in the church. The police authority promised to handle the issue immediately.

“We went back to the church and continue knocking the gate but they did not open it for us despite the presence of the police. One of the human rights defenders jumped into the church and was immediately attacked by George. Other members of the church soon joined him as they beat up the human rights defender. They then threw the man against the fence which led to the collapse of a portion of the fence  and the man fell outside. One of the police officers who accompanied us was wounded in the process.

“Police officers were mobilized to the church. Despite the presence of the police officers and other groups around the church, the members were still continuing with their programme. They did not show any regrets about their actions. When the DPO arrived, he ordered the police to go into the church and they did that with the other mobilized groups. My elder brother joined us in searching for my children.

“Members of the church violently resisted the attempt of the police and other groups to enter into the building. When I saw my children, I called them to come to me but they told me that they will follow their people. As I was dragging them, one of them bit me while the other who was defending himself with a chair hit me on my forehead with the chair. I was beaten up by members of the church.

“At the end of the day, the police were able to arrest the members of the church. They also arrested the pastor and his wife. My children were taken to the station by the police together with the other children and adults rescued from the church.”

She said the prime suspect, a pastor was arrested half naked where he hid himself planning to escape.

“Surprisingly, the Pastor who is the cause of the whole problem tried to escape. He was the one teaching children to only respect their christian leaders and not their parents. He told them to stop attending schools since rapture will be taking place soon. He preached against adults going to work. He was the person who came up with the idea of camping children for three days every month and later increased it to seven days per month.

“He hid himself somewhere within the church compound. People continued searching for him and he was eventually found by a former member of the church who had left because of the dangerous doctrines of the church. The Pastor was found within the church in his underwears. He was arrested by the police officers and taken to the station.

“We were all then taken to the area command at Yaba. Blessing was later released to me on Friday so that she could write her Common Entrance examinations on Saturday. After the completion of her examinations, we all went to Akure to explain our roles in the matter. In Akure, my children refused to follow me home. I had to beg people to help me catch my son when he tried to escape. This also happened to other parents who came to pick their children in Akure. We have to bring them home by force,” she narrated.