Ritualists Den Busted In Lagos Church; Female Agent Strippéd

Olu Famous was driving to the Ikorodo area of Lagos on Wednesday to inspect one of my building project in the city when I ran into a scene of policeman chasing people, the area was very rowdy. It was discovered that the nefarious activities of Pastor Nwankwo,who runs a popular church in the area, has been exposed.

God exposed the evil doers when one Mrs Rosemary Chukwu kidnapped a 7yrs old boy, Emeka, for rituals by her pastor. Rosemary kept the boy in her toilet and engaged her children in a prayer session, apparently to make noise and prevent her co‑tenants from hearing the abducted boy’s cry for help.

Back in the abducted boy’s home, located four buildings from Rosemary's house, his mother became worried over his where-about. She raised alarm which caused some boys to start conducting a search.

Rosemary even came out and even suggested to the boys areas where they should search for the missing boy. Later She was said to have been sighted with a suitcase on her head, accompanied by her four children.

An eyewitness, Oyetoye Gbemi, said: “She told us she was travelling to the village. But one of the area boys who was among the search party, ordered his colleagues to search the box. 

“Immediately she heard that, she flung the box away and took to her heels. We all suspected something was amiss. When the box was opened, Emmanuel was found inside, half dead. 

“The area boys descended on her and strippéd her nakéd. On interrogation, she confessed that her pastor, the General Overseer of Holy Family Ministry (a.k.a House of Mercy), asked her to bring the boy...

“The area boys followed her to 319, Lagos Road in Ikorodu where the church is situated, where they saw her pastor waiting for her. But on sighting the crowd, the Pastor took to his heels.

“But for the arrival of Policemen from Owutu division, the woman would have been lynched. The angry mob also attempted to set the church ablaze but were also prevented by the policemen. They, however, succeeded in torching some parts of the property.”

That was how a ritualists’ den was uncovered at Ogolonto area of Ikorodu Lagos, with at least eight victims, said to have been kidnapped from different parts of the country, rescued.

One of the victims, a 52-year‑old man, who identified himself as Onwurah, alleged that his wife had a hand in his kidnap, saying he had spent two years in the enclave.

According to Vanguard, Mrs Rosemary Chukwu, who resides at 33, Omologede Street, abducted the young boy, Emmanuel Emeka, on his way to fetch water from a public well at about 6.30 a.m.

Ritualists’ den uncovered
According to Vanguard, when they arrived, a crowd had gathered, giving varying accounts of what happened. To the surprise of all, another building said to be used for ritual by Pastor Ernest Nwankwo was discovered.

The building located at 7, Oshodi Street, was behind the church. Some area boys uncovered the building while they were chasing the fleeing Pastor. The mob forced some apartments in the building open, where they found an undisclosed number of persons in chains.

The victims were said to have recounted how they were kidnapped from Anambra, Bayelsa, Ogun, Oyo states at different times. One of them, according to eye witnesses, who pleaded anonymity, said she was kidnapped 11 years ago.

According to an eyewitness, “the woman said she is about 50 years old and that she was kidnapped along the Lagos/Ibadan expressway while returning from a vigil. The rest were males and were wearing briefs. They looked haggard and tired. 

"The area boys set them free when they opened the apartments. I believe some of them should be with the police. There were also ‘Ghana must go’ bags of currencies . The area boys looted some of the things they met before the arrival of the Police.”

I was abducted from Anambra 2years ago —Victim
When Vanguard visited the den, there were bloodstains around the building and a particular apartment where those alleged to be in chains were kept, was opened up. The apartment was dark and was littered with dirty cutlery suspected to have been used to feed the victims and a bowl which contained suspected human blood.

A 52 year‑old man seen in chains told Vanguard that he was kidnapped two years ago from Anambra State. He said he used to be a commercial bus driver before he was abducted and brought to Lagos.

The man said he could not join others to escape because the key to his chain could not be found. When he was asked if Pastor Ernest Nwankwo was responsible for his abduction, he charged at him, saying: “Do not call him a pastor. He is not. He is a killer and a ritualist.”