Ondo underground church: Mixed feelings as relatives reunite with loved ones

Some 77 members of the Whole Bible Believers’ Church, in a secluded underground apartment in Ondo State, were rescued by the police. They claimed to have gone into seclusion while waiting for the second coming of Jesus Christ. In this piece, HAKEEM GBADAMOSI reports the various sides to the discovery. 

Awe, anguish and a relative sense of relief have continued to trail the discovery of some 77 people who were camped in an underground apartment owned by the Whole Bible Believers’ Church popularly known as Ondo Church, located at Valentino area, by the Ondo State Police Command.The development led to the arrest of two pastors of the church, after the duo were alleged to have been luring and harbouring the victims who were alleged to have been hypnotized, thereby denying their families access to them. They claimed to have been there since January while awaiting the coming of Jesus Christ in September.

It was gathered that the pastor in charge of the church, David Anifowose and his assistant, Peter Josiah Asumosa successfully convinced some members of the church to relocate to the church in order to prepare for the rapture which they claimed was imminent. But some church members who faulted some of the church’s doctrines made a u- turn, leaving the church for other worship centres. The activities of the church was exposed last Friday, when one of the parents who refused to embrace the new doctrines introduced by the pastors visited the church to forcefully return her 10-year-old daughter home to allow her sit the Common Entrance Examination which held last Saturday.

To the chagrin of the mother, her 10-year-old girl who had been living in the church with her father denied knowing her mother. Some of the church members threw the woman out of the church. This infuriated the woman who headed to the police station to report the incident.

Men of the Ondo police command got to the church only to discover some hypnotised 77  people which included 26 children, eight teenagers and 43 adults in an underground apartment of the church; they all claimed to be waiting for the second coming of Jesus Christ. They were all taken to the police headquarters in Akure, on Saturday to guard against any mob action.

Parents of one of the affected children, Mr and Mrs. Michael Olorunyomi, lamented that their undergraduate daughter refused to return home since January, adding that they had to institute a court injunction against the church and the pastors who were brainwashing the young girl.

According to Mr. Olorunyomi, “I left the church with my family and even my mother because of the wrong teachings the pastors were teaching the members. The pastor taught the church members on the need to divorce their wives. Husbands were told to divorce their wives if they wanted to go to heaven. They turned the children against their parents by teaching them what is not found in the Bible. When I left the church, my daughter refused to follow me. I made the mistake of leaving her behind when I was leaving.

“Before I knew what was going on, my daughter who was a 300-level student in the university dropped out and camped in the church waiting for the second coming of Jesus Christ. The pastor said there was nothing again in the world that the rapture would occur in September this year.

“They even arranged a marriage between my daughter and one of the pastor’s families. They said nobody should go to work or school and they must do nothing other than waiting for him in the church. Look at every one of them; they look unkempt. He instructed them they must not make their hair so as not to lose heaven.”

However, the daughter, Priscilla, denied disobeying her parents but said she chose to follow the directives of her pastors in order to make heaven. “My parents have dragged the pastors to court over the issue and we are still in court. I am following the doctrine of the church by following the dictate of my fathers in the lord to make heaven. I decided to defer my studentship to concentrate on the court case instituted by my parents against the pastors,” she said.

Another parent, a 52-year-old woman, Mrs. Jessica Akintemi, said two of her daughters and her husband had been hypnotised and had been living in the church since January 2022. Her daughters, aged 16 and 14, had been living in the church with their father. The two girls Ayomide who just finished her SSCE, and Olamide, an SS2 students denied knowing their mother.

She said her husband, Rotimi Akintemi, a mathematics teacher at Hallmark Secondary School in Ondo, stopped going to work while awaiting the return of Jesus Christ as predicted by the pastors.

“The assistant pastor said he was called by God to rewrite the King James Version of the Bible as there are some things that are not right in the Bible and our children have been hypnotised with these teachings,” she said.

A young graduate of the University of Medical Science, Ondo, James Anifowose, who also spoke to newsmen said there was nothing  strange happening in the church,  but said they were only trying to be obedient to God›s instruction and directives.

Speaking on why he decided not to observe the one year compulsory youths service corps programme, he said: “I studied Biotechnology. I›ve graduated but refused to go for my one year youth service exercise because the criterion for youth service was based on having the COVID-19 vaccine. The Lord has spoken to us on it, that it is not what any child of God should take, that is why I›ve not gone to service because I am not ready to take the vaccine, it›s just vanity.”

Another member of the church, Olasunkami Olafisoye, a 24-year-old university graduate, said she disobeyed her parents because they were leading her away from God.

The assistant pastor, Josiah Asumosa Peter, who was accused of introducing new doctrines to the church denied hypnotising or brainwashing the church members. According to him, “there are some things that are not right in the Bible that we want to correct. It is against our doctrines to allow women of female to preach in the church or anywhere. Again, we don’t believe in the trinity. There is nothing like God the father, the son and the Holy Spirit. This is wrong and all these are against our doctrines and we have our proof. But we believe in the rapture and its coming soon. I didn›t tell them the rapture will take place in September. These are all lies; I only told them that the rapture is close but never mentioned year or date. I have not told them that I will rewrite the Bible. I am only teaching them the word of God. I told them about what the Bible says about honouring their parents.”

Speaking on his role on Priscilla to return to her parents’ home and school, he said “I paid her last tuition when her parents refused to pay it because the father is having issues with the daughter that the girl should not come to the church and on that basis the father did not pay the school fees. I told the father he cannot force his daughter to leave the church because the father has also been in the church for more than 35 years. I never hypnotised the girl or anyone and never hindered anyone to go to their parents but they all stayed in the church without any force. We were in church on the instruction of the Lord; He instructed us to come with him for seven days, no school, no work and no going out for seven days. It was on God’s instruction but the programme was disrupted by these people and the invasion of the police.”

The pastor in charge of the church, Pastor David Anifowose, said he received the instruction from God that they should camp in the church until the second coming of Christ.  “I was the one who received the instruction from God that the people of the church should be in the church to wait for his second coming. They were only waiting for the second coming of Jesus when the policemen invaded the church and arrested us,” he said.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), Funmilayo Odunlami, said “Following Intelligence Report gathered by the Police at Fagun Division, Ondo town, that some children were being held at The Whole Bible Believers’ Church known as Ondo Church, around Valentino area, Ondo town, policemen were sent to the church to invite the pastor and the members of the church.

“Preliminary investigation revealed that one Josiah Peter Asumosa, an assistant pastor in the church was the one who told the members that the rapture would take place in April but later said it had been changed to September 2022; he told the young members to obey only their parents in the Lord.

“Another family who was also around during the rescue said their daughter, a part 3 student, dropped out of school due to the strange teachings of the pastor and left home in January, 2022 to start living in the church.

“In all, 77 members, consisting 26 children, eight teenagers and 43 adult members were rescued from the church. The two pastors are in police custody. Investigation has commenced and the outcome will be made known to the members of the public.”

Some activists have been condemning the pastors for harbouring the people, especially the under-aged children. They called for thorough investigations into the activities of the pastors while calling on the state government to ensure the prosecution of the suspects.

Ade Ademolekun, a lawyer and activist, said the church should be closed down, saying the activities of the pastors are nothing but a cruel crime against the human rights of the victims, denying them freedom to education, liberty, dignity of the human person as stipulated under the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

According to him, “the church should be closed immediately. This is another form of human slavery and exploitation. The state governor should order a careful investigation into this matter while the pastors should not go unpunished if found guilty.”

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