Nigeria police arrests pastor who chained son for weeks

Church members have aided in the arrest of Francis Taiwo, a pastor who fled after Nigerian authorities rescued his 9-year-old malnourished son on Friday whom he chained for weeks for stealing.

The boy was found starved and chained to the ground with a padlock for about a month when Nigeria’s Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) rescued him after a tip off from neighbours.

“We reacted after a report that a boy had been trapped in a room near a church at Atan in Ogun State. We forced the door and we rescued him,” spokesperson for the local police, Muyiwa Adejobi confirmed to AFP.

“He was in a very bad shape, very thin because he was malnourished. The boy said his father did not give him food regularly and had been locked in the room for more than a month,” the police spokesperson added.

Francis Taiwo, a 40-year-old pastor of the Key of Joy Celestial Church in the Ogun State, who was arrested on Sunday, together with his wife (the boy’s stepmother) who was arrested earlier, had fled after the boy’s rescue.

“The man said his son could not stop stealing and to stop his habit, he had to chain him with a padlock so that he can save him,” the police spokesperson disclosed.

The boy, who is only known as Korede, has been treated and discharged. The police is expected to hand him over to the Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development.

The father of Korede will be arraigned in court after investigations are complete, police sources indicate.