Pastor E. A. Adeboye, the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) has stated that only one of the five victims abducted on Friday in Ogun state was a RCCG pastor.
It had earlier been reported that the five victims abducted by suspected herdsmen were all pastors of RCCG and that they were headed to the Redemption Camp on Km 46, Lagos-Ibadan expressway.
But on Friday night, during the monthly Holy Ghost programme, Pastor Adeboye clarified that only one of the kidnapped victims was a pastor of the RCCG, Pastor Chidinma Ibeleji.
He said: “People have been taunting me and challenging me that since I hear from God, how come this is happening to your church pastors.
“I want to say it has been confirmed that only one pastor of the church was kidnapped along with four other people.
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In a testimony at the Redeemed Camp on Saturday, Ibeleji said their abductors were herdsmen and that she prayed that they might fall asleep. They did and she used the opportunity to escape.
The victims were rescued by the Ogun State Police Command who claimed to have deployed a geo-location application to track the kidnappers.
Ogun State Police Commissioner Bashir Makama briefed reporters on the rescue mission and how the police managed to rescue the victims in record time.
Police Commissioner Makama said four suspects were arrested in connection with the abduction.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
