RCCG Pastor’s Escape From Fulani Herdsmen: Facts And Fiction

By Ayodele Oluwafemi

The initial news of the kidnapping of five pastors of the Redeemed Christian Church of God was one that shook the confidence of many people not just in Nigeria, but also in God.

They were kidnaped along the Lagos-Shagamu Expressway, reportedly on their way to the just concluded annual convention of the church.

The general overseer of the church, Pastor Enoch Adeboye broke the news in the morning of Friday August, 2 during a ministers’ meeting preceding the convention.

“As a father, how do you think I should feel to hear that five of my children have been kidnapped while on their way to attend the Ministers Conference?” 

The assertion immediately ignited the news media. On social media it was another thing. Given the fact that Vice President Yemi Osinbajo is a leading member of the church, it especially gained a political currency.

The vice-president had with other officials of the government claimed to have defeated, degraded and officially defeated the Boko Haram insurgency in the Northeast.

Prof. Osinbajo had also come under severe criticism when during a recent visit to the United States he claimed that reports of kidnappings and other attacks in Nigeria were exaggerated.

Not surprisingly, many took to social media to lampoon the vice-president noting that it had now hit him, if not personally, then at the church level. 

While the social media commentators ran their narratives, for the victims of the kidnapping it was a different kettle of fish.

Speaking in the afternoon session, he, clarified that only one pastor of the RCCG was involved in the kidnap.

“I want to say it has been confirmed that only one pastor of the church was kidnapped along with four other people.

“That does not reduce the weight of the incidence. The church will continue to pray for the release of all those who have been kidnapped.”

“People have been taunting me and challenging me that since I hear from God, how come this is happening to your church pastor’s,” Adeboye was further quoted to have said.

One commentator on social media said: “It seems the pastors who were kidnapped, do no longer have anointing.”

Adeboye and his congregation, however, did not go to sleep and prayer was made continuously for the kidnapped victims.

Whether many of those praying believed in the efficacy of their prayer was, however, another thing.

Willy-nilly, the following day, the only pastor in the midst of the kidnapped victims was released, not by the police as it was initially claimed, but by the force of prayer she claimed put her captors to sleep.

Mrs. Chidinma Ibeleji who walked out of the Fulani herdsmen kidnappers’ den unscathed in her testimony said she prayed and the captors went into a deep sleep and she walked out and alerted the police who put the pressure that made the kidnappers to flee.

She said:

“I prayed to God to make them fall asleep, and they fell asleep and continued to sleep until I began to make my way out of the bush.

“Almost immediately we reached what appeared to be the camp of our kidnappers, they all fell asleep. Same with the other victims. But I kept awake. When I saw how deep everyone was snoring, I braved the odds and made a bid for my escape.

“I walked for about three hours, non-stop, until I made it to the road, where I saw an Okada (commercial).”

Remarkably, when the news of her testimony broke to the media, many engaged in another calumny campaign on the social media to disregard the authenticity of her testimony. Some even posted that the abduction was stage managed in order to gain publicity for the church. 

Sceptics, however, put aside the story of similar narratives of how God delivered Peter, Paul and Silas at different times from the hands of those who held them in custody.

In the case of Peter as narrated in Acts 12, he walked out of the prison even though he was chained to two soldiers.

Why a large section of social media doubted the claims of Mrs. Ibeleji is not easily fathomed. Perhaps because no one expected such a rapid release from the hands of the Fulani herdsmen categorized among the most dangerous militant groups in the world.

Remarkably, no one has faulted her testimony. Neither her fellow abductees nor her abductors. If only the abductors would come forward to dispute her claim of using magic to put them to sleep!

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