EXCLUSIVE: ‘He Said He Could Kill Us Secretly’: Ondo Pastors Accuse CP Lawal, Police Of Arrest, Extortion Over ‘Fake Miracle’ Claim At Planned Crusade
The clergymen involved include Olarewaju Fadahunsi, Gbadura Marvelous, Arijesulola Kayode, and two others identified as Tijani and Kolade.
The Ondo State Police Command, including the Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, has been accused of extorting N2 million from a group of pastors in the state.
The clergymen involved include Olarewaju Fadahunsi, Gbadura Marvelous, Arijesulola Kayode, and two others identified as Tijani and Kolade.
SaharaReporters gathered that the pastors were arrested by a police team said to be directly under the Commissioner of Police and led by Inspector Sunday Aluko on February 11, 2026, at Saint Paul Anglican Church in Odode-Idanre.
Inspector Aluko was reportedly accompanied by about 16 policemen who arrived in three Toyota Hilux vehicles. The officers allegedly stormed the church premises, arrested the pastors, and transported them to the state police headquarters, where they were detained for several days.
One of the arrested pastors, who spoke to SaharaReporters, alleged that they were treated like criminals under the supervision of the police commissioner.
He said, “We were arrested on February 11 by police officers in Ondo State where we were planning to organise a crusade on 11th of February. They said someone told them we were planning to do a fake miracle during the crusade, so they detained us for five days.
“We were shocked and asked if there was any evidence against us or if someone had reported us to them, but instead of answering us, they started kicking us. We were surprised as we hadn’t been to Idanre for a crusade before.
“We were taken to the police headquarters where the police commissioner asked them to lock us up. For four days, we weren’t allowed to see anyone.
“So one of our family members heard about this and called the police public complaint team in Abuja about our unlawful arrest and subsequent detention. Those ones now spoke to the IPO, Femi David Olatunji, and requested our release.
“To our surprise again, the Ondo State Police Commissioner, Adebowale Lawal, collected the number of the officer that called from Abuja and said he was involved in our case and wouldn’t release us.”
The pastors said they were later taken before CP Adebowale, who threatened to secretly kill them if they refused to cooperate with his men.
One of them said, “After removing us from the cell on the fourth day, we were taken to the CP’s office to see him. When we got there, he was angry that our family friend had reported him in Abuja.
“He then threatened us that he could kill us secretly and no one would challenge him, that our bodies would be shown to Nigerians as kidnappers killed during an ambush.
“But now that those in Abuja were aware, he still had the power to send us to prison and parade us as fraudsters. So one of us asked him why we were arrested and was there any petition written against us for us to be treated like criminals, and that if he was accusing us of organising a fake miracle, then there must be victims of those we had defrauded or used to scam people in the past.
“And moreover, the crusade hadn’t started; does it mean the police just arrest people because they think they are criminals without any investigation or evidence? This made the CP angry and said his authority was being challenged.
“After that, he handed us over to one CSP Emmanuel Oluyemi Fabiyi and told us to cooperate with him.”
The clergyman further stated that they left the Commissioner of Police’s office after being advised to settle and cooperate with the officers to avoid further trouble.
According to him, while waiting at the reception, CSP Emmanuel Oluyemi Fabiyi and Inspector Leke Aluko remained inside for a private discussion with the Commissioner. He said that when the officers later came out, they followed them, and CSP Fabiyi informed them that the Commissioner had been magnanimous and had only asked them to pay N6,000,000.
He said, “We asked him for what, as we didn’t do anything, but he threatened to lock us up again and asked us to start calling our friends and relatives to raise the money or we would be paraded soon.
“So we started calling, but we couldn’t raise such an amount, so we were returned to the cell till the following day, which was on a Friday. Then we told the CSP we were only able to raise N2,000,000, but he flared up, saying the N2,000,000 was too small for the CP and he wouldn’t collect it, that we should try and raise more. That even his position might be affected as the CP might find him not capable.”
The pastor said the senior police officer returned to their cell after a few hours and asked them to bring the money as he had appealed to the police commissioner on their behalf.
They were subsequently introduced to a woman operating a Point of Sale (POS) machine, through whom they transferred N2,000,000 into a MoniePoint account, number 5681743272, registered under the name Mama Shade Ventures.
“They were the ones who called the woman and asked her if she had N2,000,000 cash. And if she didn’t, she should quickly arrange for it. It’s clear the POS lady was working with them,” he said.
“So they asked two policemen to follow the wife of one of us who had the money in her account to the POS woman, whose shop is in front of FUTA in Akure, to collect the cash. The woman even boasted to her that she still took cash of N4.5 million to the CP office herself three days earlier and that the CP wouldn’t take a transfer.”
The POS lady, in a recorded conversation with the wife of one of the arrested pastors, which was made available to SaharaReporters, was heard saying in Yoruba, “It’s cash they will take from me; you know the CP is aware of the case, so I need to go with cash. So do you expect me to transfer directly to the CP? It’s cash that will be taken to the CP.”
SaharaReporters learnt that the pastors were released after paying N2,000,000, with an additional N300,000 allegedly paid separately to Inspector Leke Aluko as “fuel allowance”.
They were, however, re-arrested days later, and their cars were impounded after their lawyer wrote a petition to the police headquarters.
“We were re-arrested and forced to write an undertaking that we wouldn’t take any other steps against the CP. They collected our cars. They just released the last car last week; initially, they said they couldn’t find the key,” he said.
“They also forced us to write a statement that we were doing a fake miracle, which they can’t provide evidence to back up. Hurriedly, the police spokesman too released a statement about our arrest. Imagine, a statement about our arrest after they had extorted N2,000,000 from us and released us.”
Calls made by SaharaReporters to the Ondo State Commissioner of Police, Adebowale Lawal, were not answered, and he did not return the calls.
A WhatsApp message sent to his line was seen on Sunday afternoon, but no response had been received as of the time of filing this report.
The spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, Jimoh Abayomi, was also contacted and promised to respond after reviewing the questions.
However, he had yet to do so more than 15 hours later.
WATCH: How Ondo Police Commissioner Lawal Allegedly Used POS Operator To Extort N2Million From Pastors, Threatened Them With Secret Killings pic.twitter.com/9VvTj4tbeG
— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) March 2, 2026
