The Rivers State Police Command has arrested the Pastor of a new generation church for allegedly manhandling about 20 children in the name of spiritual deliverance in Emeka community in Ohio/Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.
In a viral video of the incident, the Pastor identified as Ifediorah Joseph had the children within the age range of 5-9 years all completely naked as he flogged them for spiritual cleansing.
It was said that they were brought to the pastor during a three-day deliverance programme where he used leaves of palm tree to whip each of them severally on their heads and other parts of their bodies.
While he flogged them, the children cried and groaned in pain seeking to he helped but the pastor would not stop.
After flogging them, he was seen picking the children like paper bags and throwing them to one of his church members who was standing by and caught the flying children.
He repeated this process as he kept the supposed cleansed children by the side and repeated the same for the rest.
Sadly, when one of the parents whose child was also being flogged tried to intervened and rescue their children, they were chased back by the pastor who sternly rebuked them for trying to interrupt the deliverance session.
According to the report, stripping the minors was part of the cleansing procedure before taken them through the rest of painful procedure which takes about one minute for each child.
Meanwhile, in a statement by the spokesperson to the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko she said the pastor claimed he was led by the Holy Spirit to carry out the deliverance.
According to her, the command acting on credible intelligence stormed the Church and arrested the 41-year-old Pastor alongside several members and rescued the children who were about 20 of them.
The statement read, “The Rivers State Police Command has taken swift action in response to a distressing online video, circulating on social media, depicting the dehumanization of minors within a Church setting, where the presiding Pastor, Pastor Ifediorah Onyeibor Joseph, ‘m’ aged 41, has been arrested in connection with the incident .
“Preliminary investigations reveal that Pastor Ifediorah allegedly organized a 3-day program for children in his Church, purportedly for “spiritual cleaning,” claiming to have been inspired by the Holy Spirit.
“Upon receiving this information, Operatives from the Rivers State Police Command through coordinated intelligence, arrested the pastor and several Church members at the scene.
“A thorough investigation is currently underway to unravel the circumstances surrounding this incident. Further updates will be made public as more information becomes available”.
The State Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, also expressed annoyance over the incident but urged the public to remain calm and peaceful while investigation is ongoing.
He further called on the public to report any suspicious activities or concerns to the nearest Police Station or other Security agencies for prompt action.
“The Command will continue to work tirelessly to address any issues that may compromise the security and dignity of individuals within our State,” he said.
