FIJ
The Ekiti State Police Command has rearrested Ade Abraham, pastor of Christ High Commission Ministry, who convinced members of his church to each pay him N310,000 and relocate with him to Ekiti from Kaduna in April 2022 so he could take them to heaven.
FIJ gathered that the police, with support from the National Agency for Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), arrested Abraham on Tuesday over allegations of kidnapping no fewer than nine persons, some of whom are minors.
On April 24, 2022, FIJ exclusively reported how the pastor convinced his congregation that the world was coming to an end and got them to sell their properties and abandon their relatives to be with him in the camp.
A day later, FIJ published videos from inside the camp, showing the conditions congregants were subjected to and how they believed what the pastor was telling them.
On April 27, 2022, the police arrested Abraham, but a magistrate court granted him bail and he has been free since.
Sunday Abutu, Police Public Relations Officer of the state command, has now confirmed to FIJ that the police rearrested the pastor after complainants reported that he had kidnapped members of his church.
The arrest, Abutu told FIJ, followed protests by parents and relatives of members of the church who begged the police to intervene as they believed Abraham had turned his members against them.
Some of the protesters accused Abraham of impregnating their wives, while others accused him of making members resign their jobs and quit school to be with him. Mary Abraham, Ade’s wife, was also amongst the protesters, Abutu confirmed.
“He is in our custody at the state CID, and he will be arraigned when investigation is concluded,” Abutu told FIJ. “We are investigating him based on various allegations.”
THIS STORY FIRST APPEARED IN FIJ
