Operatives of the Inspector-General of Police Intelligence Response Team (IGP-IRT) have arrested a 52-year-old Pentecostal pastor and General Overseer of New Life Church of God, located at Lokosi Town, in Shagamu Local Government Area of Ogun state.
He was arrested alongside his gang for kidnapping and detaining his victim, a dispatch rider, Job Ekpo Jonathan, an indigene of Benue State, in an underground tunnel in his church premises.
DCP Frank Mba, Force Spokesman, who paraded the suspect and his gang with other suspected criminals, on Wednesday at IRT Office, Abuja, said 35 suspects had been arrested by IRT Operatives for kidnapping, armed robbery, car theft, cattle rustling, and other criminal acts.
Following the arrest, Mba revealed that four AK-47 riffles, 361 rounds of AK-47 live ammunition, five other weapons of different makes and one anti-tracking device were recovered from the suspects.
According to Mba, “We have a disturbing and pathetic case involving the kidnap of one Job Ekpo Jonathan, a dispatch rider with Glory Master Logistics, the major distributor of Forever Living Products.
Job was detailed by his company to go and deliver Forever Living Products to someone who had ostensibly ordered for this product online.
“He first of all rode his bike to Ikorodu area of Lagos, and eventually was directed to proceed to Shagamu, not knowing that he was working into the kidnappers’ den.
“On arriving at the location, which turned out to be a church, Job was immediately taken hostage.
“This gang is ran by Pastor Adetokunbo Adelopo, 52-year-old man of God who is the General Overseer of New Life Church of God.
“The Pastor had built a beautiful underground facility in his church premises where Job was held throughout the period he was in their captivity.
“When Job started struggling with them after they had seized him with a rope on his neck, the pastor who is neither a doctor, nurse nor certified health worker, administered an anesthesia forcefully on him, which made him unconscious.
“Other members of the gang who actively participated in that operation are Chigozie Williams, 22 years from Umuahia North Local Government Area of Abia State, Linus Ugorji , 30-year-old from Ezinifiti Community in Imo State and Emmanuel Chris, 27 year, from Imo State.
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“It is a highly diversified gang with members from different states of the federation.”
The victim, Job, who narrated his ordeal to journalists said, he spent 10 days in their captivity inside an underground hole which they called Special Guest House, where he was only fed with gari, sugar and beans.
He said, “When I got to the church to deliver the items, they suddenly put a rope around my neck from the back and I started shouting blood of Jesus and struggling to free myself from the rope.
“All of them started shouting blood of Jesus to confuse neighbours, while trying to tie my hands. When they finally brought me down, the pastor now injected me and that was the only thing I remember.
“They were feeding me with gari, sugar, beans, coke and water. I spent about nine days in that hole and was rescued by the police on the 10th day. I have never ever experienced such a thing before.”
While speaking with journalists, Pastor Adetokumbo Adelopo who said he had spent over 20 years in ministry, claimed to have been ordained in 2014 as a Resident Pastor with Living Faith Chapel, which he had since resigned from to start his ministry, New Life Church of God.
According to him, he resigned from Living Faith Chapel because he was not having time to do charity works, which he enjoyed doing.
He said: “I was ordained a pastor by Bishop Abayomi in Ibadan in 2014. We do lots of charity in my church and during this COVID-19 pandemic lockdown.
“I didn’t have anything in my account and people were still coming for help. I don’t take care of Christians alone. I do take care of Muslims too.
“We needed money to buy foodstuff and ram for this Sallah. So, it was why I decided to source money from this company by kidnapping their staff.”
He, however, denied the involvement of Living Faith Chapel in his criminal activity, saying, it had nothing to do with his present life, adding, “I left them long ago.”
Meanwhile, Mba noted that this was the second time the Police had recovered a jamming or anti-tracking device from an established car theft syndicate in Nigeria.
The syndicate headed by a Niger Republic citizen, one Alhaji Garba still at large, had stolen over 30 cars and drove them out of the country to Niger, through his gang members out of which 18 cars mostly Toyota products have been recovered, Mba stated.