77-year-old prophet Samuel Babatunde who is the
founder of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Itedo Isinmi Ayo Parish, Egan
Road in Iyana-Iyesi area of Ota in the Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area of Ogun state, has been arrested
alongside three others, by men of the Ogun State Police command, after
some human parts were discovered to have been buried inside his
church premises.
Commissioner of Police in the state, Ahmed Iliyasu, told newsmen
while parading the suspects yesterday, that the men were arrested after a
serial children kidnapper, Jeremiah Adeola, who was also arrested last
Saturday, confessed that he abducts children and delivers them to the
77-year-old prophet. The police boss said a 43-year-old herbalist,
Haruna Afolabi, worked with the suspects to bury the human parts at the
entrance of the church.
He further explained that another suspect, Haruna Afolabi who is an herbalist, was among the suspects who allegedly buried the human parts at the entrance of the church.
The
nefarious activities of the Prophet and his accomplices were brought to
the open when operatives attached to the Ota Area Command received an
intelligence report about Adeola and eventually apprehended him.
“On
the strength of the intelligence, detectives from the Ota Area Command
were detailed to effect the arrest of the suspect. At about 10.20 am on
the date, their efforts paid off when the said Jeremiah Adeola was
arrested.
On interrogation, he
confessed to being a serial kidnapper and mentioned the name of the
prophet as the receiver of the kidnapped children.
Upon
his revelation, he was taken to the church of the said prophet at
Iyana-Iyesi Ota, where 77-year-old Samuel Babatunde, the man in charge
of the church, and one Haruna Afolabi, a 42-year-old traditional worshipper, were arrested.
The floor of the church was dug as described by the first suspect, and suspected human parts were brought out,” CP Iliyasu said.
He added that all those found culpable would be brought to book, warning criminals to steer clear of the state.
However,
Prophet Babatunde debunked the allegations leveled against him, saying
he did not bury a human being in his church but confessed that he had
buried a pig alive inside the church, ‘to bring good fortune, prosperity, and comfort to the congregation of the church.’
He
said though he met Adeola at a prayer mountain in Ibadan, Oyo State, he
never contracted him for human parts, claiming that the alleged serial
kidnapper had a mental problem.
But
Adeola insisted that the prophet was the receiver of some kidnapped
children, arguing that the cleric paid him N50,000 for each of the two
children he supplied to him recently.
“Operatives attached to the police Area Command in Ota on Sunday
received technical intelligence about Adeola and eventually apprehended
him. On the strength of the intelligence, detectives from Ota Area
Command were detailed to effect the arrest of the suspect; and at about
10:20am of the date, their efforts paid off when the said Jeremiah
Adeola was promptly arrested”.
He added that after investigations have been concluded, the police charge the suspects to court.
