PORT HARCOURT: Two clerics believed to be fake have been arrested in Rivers by youths and handed over to operatives of the State Police Command.
The suspects Pastors, Umoren Bassey and Elija Aniete, were arrested on January 20, 2025, by the youths of Rumunduru in Oroigwe, Obio/Akpor Local Government Area of the state.
The suspects, aged 60 and 51 respectively, are natives of Akwa-Ibom State and were handed over to the police for discreet investigation.
The Public Relations Officer of the State Police Command, Grace Iringe-Koko, while parading the suspects at the command’s headquarters in Port Harcourt, yesterday, noted that preliminary investigations have revealed that bizarre items were found in the church premises, including a live cartridge, sword, two wooden coffins, fake naval passports, and thousands of people’s pictures and passports.
Other items recovered from the church include bottles containing unknown liquids, children’s shoes, calabashes, coconuts, Bibles, police uniforms, and various spiritual items. Notably, there was no python or big casket found among the items, contrary to initial reports.
She said Bassey’s church, God Deliverance Apostolic Church, and Aniete’s Power House of Glory International Church, are both located along Eneka Road in Rumunduru, Obio-Akpor Council of Rivers State.
Iringe-Koko assured the public that more findings would be made available as the investigation progresses.
However, the arrest of the two alleged fake pastors has sparked widespread interest and concern online with many calling for greater scrutiny of religious leaders and their activities.
Speaking, Bassey claimed that he uses spiritual materials for prayer, as directed by God. He alleged that the community planted some of the items found in his church and searched his house without a warrant. Bassey stated that he has been healing people and helping the community for 17 years.
He said: “You can use water and oil to heal people..I have lived there so long.It is a land case.i still have three weeks after court judgement that asked me to quit. They used it to step up me up.The community planted some of the materials they claimed they saw in my church.They searched my house without warrant.
I have been healing people.Helping the community.I have lived there for 17 years.some of the pictures you saw there is that of my Son and some are that of my members.
“I Use the small casket or miracle life oil to pray for mad persons.The mad person must be calm within three months.I use it to help the community people”
Also,, Aniete, who was arrested alongside Bassey, claimed that he owns a church and was visiting Bassey to discuss maritime-related issues, stating that Bassey is the captain of the Maritime Rescue Coastal Security organization and had been invited to discuss a signal from Lagos.
He said: “I own a church. What brought me here is that we belong to an organization of Maritime Rescue Coastal Security, Bassey is the captain in the Maritme.
“So he called me, he called me on Sunday that he had signal from lagos that he wants to relate with me. As I was with him that was when the youths came in and arrested me.”
Meanwhile, the Youth President of Rumunduru, Henry Worlu, revealed how the alleged fake pastors were apprehended by youths in the community.
He said: “I was called by the vigilante commanderthay they saw a man doing mid night and the man happen to be a man they know very well, they call him pastor.
“They traced him down to his house. The next morning the youth went to his house to ask him to know what he was doing at the center of the road. When we got there we asked him, he denied. He said he a pastor that he had nothing to with fetish things he doesn’t deal with them.
“We met him with Elijah and we asked him he said nothing that he came to see his friend to talk about maritime, we allows him.
“So we asked the man we came to see to allow us see his compound, he refused entry. Until we opened one of his chambers and we saw all manner of Fetish things.”
