Fear has driven popular Ilorin cleric and founder of Word Assembly Ministries, Rev. Isaac Omolehin, into hiding after security operatives reportedly warned of an impending attack by kidnappers on his church camp in Idofian, Ifelodun Local Government Area of Kwara State.
The reported security threat has also forced Omolehin, his wife and children, alongside more than 100 residents of the sprawling church camp, to flee the facility and seek safety elsewhere.
According to a statement issued on Saturday by the pastor’s spokesperson, Grace Edema, the incident occurred between May 30 and 31 when police officers reportedly arrived at the camp in the middle of the night and ordered everyone to evacuate immediately.
“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,” Omolehin said.
The cleric disclosed that he was not at the camp when the evacuation order was issued, adding that the suspected kidnappers later arrived but found the facility completely deserted.
Since the incident, Omolehin said he has been moving from one location to another with his family because he fears returning to his home.
“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 lamented.
The pastor said the security crisis has crippled activities at the camp, which serves far more than a conventional church facility.
According to him, the camp accommodates orphaned children and operates a primary school, secondary school, hospital, old people’s home and a rehabilitation centre for mentally challenged women rescued from the streets, alongside their children.
“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,” Omolehin said.
The development has also raised concerns over the welfare and education of more than 100 children who reside at the facility.
Omolehin said the church authorities had written to the police seeking confirmation that the area was safe for residents to return, particularly because schools have resumed and the children need to return to their classrooms.
The pastor’s account highlights the continuing security concerns confronting communities and vulnerable institutions in parts of Kwara State, with the reported threat leaving an entire church community displaced and essential services at the camp suspended.
