DETECTIVES from the Ondo State Police Command have arrested a Prophet and founder of a Cherubim and Seraphim Church, the Gethsemane Zion Church, Prophet Godwin Ayenugha, in Igbokoda headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area of the State, over his alleged involvement in the kidnap of a member of his church, Omosaye Segun.
The Prophet, Ayenugha, was arrested with an accomplice, Ibukun Adetigha who used to send text messages to their victims informing them of their impending kidnap.
Speaking on the arrest, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr Gbenga Adeyanju, explained that the suspects were arrested through a network of intelligence gathering by the detectives from the state.
He disclosed that the victim, Omosaye Segun, who was kidnapped in November 2017 and regained his freedom in January 2018 after paying the ransom, received a text message from the suspects who claimed they were responsible for his kidnap.
According to the Police boss, the suspects informed Omosaye that they will be coming for him again to kidnap him, threatening to kill him if they eventually kidnap him this time
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The suspect, however, informed the police, while they swung into action and the owner of the phone used to text the message was arrested which led to the arrest of the Prophet.
The CP said “on the receipt of the complaint, detectives from the command swung into action and through intelligence gathering arrested one Ibukun Adetigha and later arrested Prophet Godwin Ayenugha, a founder of a church in Igbokoda.
“The Techno handset that was used in sending the text messages was recovered from them. Upon interrogation, the two suspects confessed to have sent the text messages but denied their involvement in the abduction of the victim.
“Prophet Godwin Ayenugha happened to be the spiritual father of the victim who claimed to have seen the vision that the victim would be kidnapped.”
Confessing to the crime, Prophet Ayenugha, said he was pushed to the crime because of hunger, but said he had no hand in the last year kidnap of the victim.
He said he had earlier informed the victim that he should be prayerful to avoid being kidnapped again, saying “because he believes in me, he gave me money in order to organise a prayer session for him.”
He said “I am very close to the victim and I have been working and praying for him for some time but I was financially down and had to think of how to get money from him
“I asked one of my church members to text him and one other person to inform them that we are coming to kidnap them. I know they will come to me for spiritual assistance and I eventually collected N150,000 from Omosaye and the other person paid N60,000.”
The 48-year-old father of five, however, said: “I did not have any knowledge about his first kidnap because I was away to Cameroun but I intend to kidnap them to get cash from them because I need money so badly to feed my family.”
The accomplice, Adetigha, also confessed to the crime, disclosing that the text messages were sent on the order of his spiritual father and confirmed receiving N25,000 from the prophet as part of his share in the deal.