CLERIC RAISES ALARM OVER BANDIT THREAT TO KWARA CHURCH CAMP

The founder of Word Assembly Ministries, Ilorin, Rev. Isaac Omolehin, has raised concerns over an alleged threat by bandits to attack his church camp in Idofian, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.

Omolehin said the security threat led to the evacuation of the camp and forced him, his family and more than 100 other residents to seek safety in different locations.

He disclosed this in a statement made available to journalists on Saturday by his spokesperson, Grace Edema.

According to the cleric, security personnel arrived at the camp around midnight between May 30 and 31 and directed everyone to leave following intelligence of an impending attack by suspected kidnappers.

Omolehin said the evacuation left the camp deserted, with residents unable to return because the authorities had not confirmed that the area was safe.

“The police came to my camp in the middle of the night and asked everybody to run because kidnappers were coming to attack me. The whole camp was deserted, and it has remained deserted,” he said.

He added that the suspected bandits later arrived at the facility but found no one there.

“They came, the bandits, but they didn’t meet anybody,” he added.

The cleric said the development had disrupted his family’s life, forcing him to move from one location to another with his wife and children.

“I have a house I can’t enter. I have a car I can’t ride. I have to hide myself from the public. If I sleep here today, I’ll sleep somewhere else tomorrow. I’m homeless with my wife and children,” Omolehin said.

He explained that the camp provides accommodation and services for vulnerable people, including orphaned children, while also operating a primary school, secondary school, hospital, old people’s home and a rehabilitation centre for mentally challenged women rescued from the streets and their children.

“Bandits chased us out of that place. The school cannot open, the hospital is not functioning, and the patients and nurses all ran for their lives,” he said.

Omolehin said more than 100 people who previously lived at the facility had since been dispersed to different locations, adding that the continued closure of the camp had affected the education and welfare of the children under his care.

He said the management of the facility had written to the police seeking clarification on whether residents could safely return, but no response had been received.

“We wrote to the police because they were the ones who asked us to leave. We asked if it was safe for us to return because schools had resumed and we have over a hundred children that need to go to school. There has been no response,” he stated.

The cleric said reports had also been submitted to the Department of State Services and the Kwara State Ministry of Social Welfare, which oversees orphanages and rehabilitation centres in the state.

He further alleged that his home community in Kogi State was attacked shortly after the incident at the Kwara camp, resulting in deaths.

“Three days after the attack on my camp here in Kwara, my village in Kogi State was also attacked, and my people were killed. When they missed me here in Kwara, they went to my village and attacked my people,” he said.

According to Omolehin, the suspected kidnappers did not destroy the camp’s structures, but criminals later took advantage of the evacuation to steal property from the abandoned facility.

“The kidnappers did not destroy our buildings; the structures in the camp are still intact. However, a few days after we evacuated, thieves began breaking into the camp and carting away our belongings,” he said.

He stressed that the individuals who allegedly looted the property were different from the kidnappers who threatened the camp.

“Those were different criminals. The kidnappers did not come to steal refrigerators, fans or mattresses. They came for human beings. The people who looted our property are not the same as the kidnappers,” he added.

Speaking about opposition to his ministry and public advocacy, Omolehin said he remained undeterred despite what he described as continued attacks and restrictions on his activities.

“The attacks are still going on, but they don’t affect me. Jesus already told us that our preaching may be resisted,” he said.

He also disclosed that he had recently been prohibited from preaching in Baptist churches.

“Baptists banned me from preaching in Baptist churches just about a month ago,” he stated.

Omolehin appealed to the Federal and Kwara State governments to strengthen security around the camp to facilitate the return of the displaced residents.

He noted that some of the orphaned children currently under his care had been referred to the facility by government authorities.

“I want to appeal to the government to improve security so that I can return to the camp with my family and all the people I look after. Some of the children in the orphanage were brought to us by the government. Even if they say they don’t care about the rest of us, what about the children they entrusted to us?” he said.

Efforts to obtain the reaction of the Kwara State Police Command were unsuccessful, as the Police Public Relations Officer, Adetoun Ejire-Adeyemi, did not respond to calls and messages as of the time of filing this report.