The Rivers State Police Command has arrested a Port Harcourt-based cleric, Pastor Ifediorah Joseph, and four members of his church after a viral video showed a group of naked children being whipped in what was described as a “spiritual cleansing” ceremony.
Pastor Joseph, 41, who heads Our Lord Victory Covenant Mission Church, Eneka, allegedly organised a three-day programme during which children aged between five and nine were beaten with palm fronds and bathed in pigeon’s blood.
The disturbing video, which spread rapidly on social media, shows the cleric striking the minors one after another while other church members supervised.
After each flogging, the children were reportedly moved to a separate group identified as “cleansed.”
Commissioner of Police, Olugbenga Adepoju, ordered an immediate investigation after the footage reached the authorities.
Acting on intelligence, operatives stormed the church and arrested the pastor along with the church’s welfare secretary, Promise Nwikegha, a minister, Deborah Ohia, and another member.
In a surprising twist, several parents of the children stormed Eneka Police Division singing, dancing, and demanding the release of the pastor.
They insisted they had given full consent for the ritual, describing it as a harmless spiritual exercise.
One of them, Mrs. Ngozi Uzoma, told journalists: “There was no abuse. We allowed it because it was a divine cleansing for our children.”
However, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP), which has joined the probe, insisted that parental consent cannot override a child’s rights.
NAPTIP intelligence officer, Komani Timipire, said the matter is being treated as potential child abuse.
Pastor Joseph defended his actions, claiming divine instruction. “I acted under the direction of the Holy Spirit,” he said when asked about the alleged use of pigeon’s blood.
The Rivers Police Command has urged the public to remain calm, assuring that the welfare and dignity of the minors will be protected as investigations continue.
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