By Ado Oyeyemi
The founder of Word Assembly Ministries, Ilorin, Rev Isaac Omolehin, has disclosed that threats of a bandit attack forced him, his family and more than 100 residents to flee his church camp in Idofian, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
Omolehin said the evacuation followed a warning by the police that bandits were planning to attack the facility.
The cleric made this known in a statement issued on Saturday by his spokesperson, Grace Edema, saying the police arrived at the camp around midnight between May 30 and 31 and directed everyone to leave immediately.
According to him, the camp has remained deserted since the evacuation, leaving more than 100 residents, including children and other vulnerable people, scattered across different locations.
“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.
Omolehin, who is known for speaking against denominational divisions within the Nigerian Church, said the bandits eventually arrived at the camp but found nobody there.
He said the security threat had also forced 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,” he stated.
The cleric said the camp provided accommodation and services for orphaned children and vulnerable people, including a primary and secondary school, hospital, old people’s home and a rehabilitation centre for women with mental health challenges rescued from the streets.
“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 added.
Omolehin said he had written to the police seeking confirmation that the area was safe for residents to return, particularly as schools had resumed and more than 100 children in his care needed to return to school.
He added that reports had also been submitted to the Department of State Services and the Kwara State Ministry of Social Welfare, which supervises orphanages and rehabilitation centres, but no official response had been received.
The cleric further alleged that his village in Kogi State was attacked three days after the incident in Kwara, claiming that some members of his community were killed.
He said the bandits did not destroy the buildings at the camp but that thieves later broke into the deserted facility and carted away valuables, including refrigerators, fans and mattresses.
Omolehin said he had continued his public ministry despite what he described as sustained attacks and opposition, adding that he was recently prevented from preaching in Baptist churches.
He appealed to the Federal and Kwara State governments to improve security around the camp to enable him, his family and the displaced residents to return.
“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.
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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 or messages as of the time of filing this report.
