Calabar, Nigeria, pastor arrested over alleged ritual killing of 19-month-old, police say

Police in Calabar, Cross River State, have arrested the pastor of Royal God’s Commandments Ministry, Mr. Tony Obo-Ekpeyong, over an alleged abduction and killing of a 19-month-old girl for ritual purposes. The police said they intend to charge him and others to court. No charges have yet been heard in court, and the allegations remain unproven.

The pastor was arrested last Thursday. According to police, items recovered from him included a human heart that was suspected to belong to the missing child, along with charms, fetish items, and pictures of various persons. Police said the heart had been sent to the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital for analysis.

The arrest followed a report from the child’s parents, who raised an alarm after their daughter was allegedly taken by masked men who entered their home. The police spokesperson, Irene Ugbo, said operatives were deployed to search the church and its surroundings, where they allegedly found incriminating items and arrested the pastor and six others. Ugbo said police received a distress call on August 24 reporting that a pastor at a church in Calabar South had killed a baby girl.

The pastor denied the allegation. He said he had been praying for a sick member when police arrived, and that the heart police found was that of a fowl. He also said the church does not operate a shrine and that the thick blood seen on the altar came from a goat and a fowl slaughtered for a celebration after a three-day fasting programme. These claims have not been independently verified.

The mother of the child, Faith Inyang, 20, told reporters she recognised one of the men because of his stature, and said he lived near the family and sometimes passed their house. She said she had not seen her daughter’s body, apart from the heart that was reportedly found. Her account is an allegation about the identity of one of the men and has not been tested in court.

Ugbo also addressed rumours that money had been paid to secure the suspects’ release. She said police had called the press to make clear that the suspects remained in custody, that the investigation was ongoing, and that murder, kidnapping, and other suspects could not be released without due process. Cross River State Commissioner of Police Hafiz Inuwa, speaking while the suspects were paraded in Calabar on Tuesday with six others, said it was not true that the suspects had been freed.

Separately, a branch of the church on Abua Street in Calabar was demolished by an angry mob over the weekend, following the incident. Police have not reported any charges arising from the demolition in the material available. The mob’s action came before any court had ruled on the allegations, and the presumption of innocence applies to the pastor and the others arrested. Protecting a child who cannot protect herself is the first duty of any institution that holds power over the vulnerable (Proverbs 31:8-9).

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