Emmanuel Adeyemi a self-proclaimed prophet after 28 persons were allegedly found chained in his apartment in the Oke-Ira, Ogba area of the State. The policemen in Area G raided the vicinity following a tip-off from a neighbour that his own 17-year-old son, Toba Adeyemi, was among those chained in his apartment.
A police source, who spoke on the matter, said that the suspect claimed that his son, Toba, and the 27 others were deranged and he chained them to cure their illness. Emmanuel Adeyemi was apprehended by operatives from Area G Command, Ogba on Friday after they stormed his apartment and found the victims chained in several rooms, Punch reports.
During the raid at noon, they found Toba chained and also discovered 27 others in a similar condition.
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He said, “The report we initially received was that a boy, Toba (Adeyemi), was being chained down by his father, a self-proclaimed prophet, in the estate. But when we got there, it was more than just the boy. There were 27 others chained in various rooms in the apartment.
“The suspect claims to be a spiritualist and a prophet. He said his work is to pray for sick people to get well. He said the victims were sick and he had been praying for their healing. The suspect has some magical inscriptions on the wall of his house. The victims comprised six adult males, nine adult females, seven female children, and six male children.
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“The families of the victims have not shown up to identify them.”
[quote_box_left]She said, “The police got a hint that the man chained his son, who has mental illness. But the place is a home the man built for mentally challenged people. Policemen were here on Friday and they arrested him and his wife. Toba is Adeyemi’s son, but a neighbour, who saw how the father chained him was not comfortable with it and reported to the police.”[/quote_box_left]
Some of the victims have been handed over to officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Youths, Sport and Social Development, while others were taken to a shelter. This is even as a number of them were rushed to hospitals.
Confirming the incident, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said that the police had commenced investigation into whether the victims were mentally sick or not.
A resident by the name, Basirat, said that the prophet was known to run a home for mentally challenged people.
She said, “A total of 28 persons were rescued from the suspect’s apartment. The man has been arrested and he is undergoing interrogation. The command will get to the root of the matter. The police are also investigating to find out whether the victims are mentally sick or not.”
