The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a prophet, Samuel Babatunde, and three others, in connection with the discovery of suspected human parts allegedly buried inside a church.
Babatunde is the founder of Cherubim and Seraphim Church, Itedo Isinmi Ayo parish, Egan Road, in the Iyana-Iyesi area of Ota, in the Ado Odo/Ota Local Government Area of the state.
The state Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, paraded the 77-year-old on Wednesday in his church at Ota.
Iliyasu said the startling discovery followed the arrest of a suspected serial kidnapper, Jeremiah Adeola, last Saturday, August 12.
He said the suspect specialised in kidnapping children and had confessed that Babatunde was the receiver of the abducted children.
The police boss explained that another suspect, Haruna Afolabi, an herbalist, was among the suspects who allegedly buried the human parts at the entrance of the church.
Iliyasu said the lid was blown off their nefarious activities last Sunday when operatives attached to the Ota Area Command received an intelligence report about Adeola and eventually apprehended him.
He said, “On the strength of the intelligence, detectives from the Ota Area Command were detailed to effect the arrest of the suspect. At about 10.20am of the date, their efforts paid off when the said Jeremiah Adeola was arrested.
“On interrogation, he confessed to being a serial kidnapper and mentioned the name of the prophet as the receiver of the kidnapped children.
“Upon his revelation, he was taken to the church of the said prophet at Iyana-Iyesi Ota, where 77-year-old Samuel Babatunde, the man in charge of the church, and one Haruna Afolabi, a 42-year-old traditional worshipper, were arrested.
“The floor of the church was dug as described by the first suspect, and suspected human parts were brought out.”
Iliyasu, however, said forensic examination would be done on the exhibits.
He added that all those found culpable would be brought to book, warning criminals to steer clear of the state.
While speaking with journalists, Babatunde denied the allegation levelled against him.
He, however, confessed that a pig was buried alive inside the church, as opposed to human parts.
He said he buried the pig “to bring good fortune, prosperity and comfort to the congregation of the church.”
While saying he founded the church in 2005, Babatunde expressed regret over the incident, which he blamed on the devil.
He said though he met Adeola at a prayer mountain in Ibadan, Oyo State, he never contracted him for human parts, claiming that the alleged serial kidnapper had a mental problem.
But Adeola insisted that the prophet was the receiver of some kidnapped children, arguing that the cleric paid N50,000 for each of the two children he supplied to him recently.