The
prophet, Moses Oloyede 23, of Celestial Church of Christ, was alleged by Mary,
to have stolen her N80, 000 after she invited him to her house for prayers.
Mary
reportedly said that Oloyede wouldn’t have known where she concealed the money,
if not that he used his spiritual powers to locate it.
In
spite of Oloyede’s repeated denial that he didn’t take the money, Mary hired
the OPC men and got them to strip him before tying his hands and legs and
embarked on a series of torture.
Oloyede
said that he was repeatedly slapped and punched. The men also used sticks and machetes to hit
exposed parts of his body.
Every
time he uttered a denial, another round of torture would commence. While torturing
the prophet, the OPC men recorded it.
Oloyede
said that when he felt he was going to die, he told them that he stole the
money. Members of his church and father were brought to the scene to witness
the torture and forced confession.
After
he was released, he was asked to bail his seized phone with N4000, pay for his
bail with N15, 000 and also to write a letter of undertaking that he would pay
the missing N80, 000 before September 8, 2017.
The
OPC men and Mary would have got away with their atrocious acts, but for the
quick intervention of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Imohimi Edgal.
When
Edgal first got wind of the incident, he alerted the Area K Police Commander,
an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Hope Okafor to investigate the case
and arrest the suspects.
Working
round the clock with his men, Okafor led in the arrest of two members of the
OPC and Mary. Other members, who took part in the torture and recording game,
bolted.
The
abduction and subsequent torture of Oloyede occurred on September 3, at the Marogbo
area of Badagry Lagos State.
Recalling
the genesis of the incident, Oloyede said that a member in his church
introduced him to Mary two years ago.
Mary
had complained of not being able to secure a job after graduation from
vocational school, where she studied photography and video coverage. After
Oloyede prayed for Mary, she secured a job at Lekki.
Oloyede
said that recently, Mary invited him to her place for prayer. When he got
there, Mary seized the opportunity to invite other people to her apartment to
meet the prophet for prayers. After series of prayers, he left for home.
Oloyede
said: “To my surprise, four days after the prayer, I received a phone call from
Mary. She accused me of stealing N80, 000, which she kept hidden in one of her
bags. I laughed over the accusation because she knew I couldn’t do such a
thing. I went to church.
“Before
I returned, Mary had called my mother and threatened her. She said my mother
should pay the money on my behalf. I was
in the church on September 3, when OPC members, hired by Mary, came to the
church to pick me. They dragged me to their base at Morogbo. They started
beating me. I was later detained in their cell.”
Oloyede
continued: “While in detention, they tied my legs and hands, beat me and
demanded that I should confessed that I took the money. When I saw I was dying,
I lied that I took the money. They asked me to bail myself with N15, 000. When
my church members couldn’t pay the bail money, the OPC men asked me to sign an
undertaking that I would pay the N80, 000 and the N15, 000 before they released
me.
“They
collected N4, 000 from me, which they said was for the bail of my phone. I later
went to Area K Police Command to lodge a complaint on how I was tortured and
forced to confess crime I didn’t commit.
Two of the OPC members, including the leader and Mary were arrested.”
The
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Olarinde Famous-Cole said
that Edgal was aware of the case and has instructed that the case be
transferred to the State Criminal Investigations Department (SCID), Panti,
Yaba. Efforts made to hear from the OPC leadership was futile as the OPC
spokesman, Mr Segun Akanni, did not pick his calls and did not respond to text
messages.
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