Francis Taiwo, a clergyman who chained his nine-year-old son for several weeks, has disclosed that he took the action because he believed his son was possessed with a ‘stealing spirit’ known in Yoruba language as ‘emi ole.’
Mr Taiwo, pastor of the Key of Joy Celestial Church, who has been on the run since law enforcement officers rescued his son, Korede, from the church premises where he was chained for weeks, was arrested yesterday.
Narrating his case to the police, Korede’s father said, “I chained my son because I felt he is possessed and I’m not comfortable with his stealing habit,” a police source who witnessed the interrogation quoted the suspect as saying.
The 40-year-old suspect, who hails from Benin Republic, said he was born in Ota Town of Ogun State and that he rose to be a pastor in the Celestial Church and was ordained in 2012.
He also told officials that he married Korede’s mother who bore four children for him before their divorce in 2007 and that the victim’s mother, Marine Taiwo, was from Delta State and Korede’s siblings were not living with him.
The church has already distanced itself from the controversial pastor.
“All we can say is that the man is not a registered or recognised pastor in the CCC,” a church official from the Lagos headquarters told journalists on Saturday.
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