Celestial Church Disowns Pastor Arrested With Drugs

The Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide has distanced itself from Afolabi Hodonu, who was recently arrested by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency.

The man was arrested alongside his wife over alleged possession of illicit drugs.

NDLEA officials had on Thursday arrested Hodonu and his wife at the Gbaji checkpoint in Lagos, with 11Kg of skunk  allegedly recovered from hidden compartments in their vehicle.

Hodonu claimed to be the Shepherd in charge of the Celestial Church of Christ, Agonvi Sea Beach, Sakpo area of Seme border, Badagry.

In a statement on Sunday by NDLEA spokesman, Femi Babafemi, the arrest of Hodonu and his wife followed an earlier interception at the same checkpoint on Monday, March 30, when operatives apprehended a fake security agent, Sunday Samuel, 35, while transporting 24.5Kg of skunk from Seme border to Lagos.

He added that investigations into the seizure reportedly led to the arrest of the cleric and his wife.

“The arrest of the couple followed the apprehension of a fake security agent, Sunday Samuel, 35, at the same checkpoint on Monday, 30th March, while conveying 24.5kg skunk from Seme border to Lagos.

The development was part of a series of operations conducted by the anti-narcotics agency across the country within the past week, ” Babafemi said.

Reacting to the arrest and link of the suspect to the Celestial Church of Christ, its Head of Media and Publicity, Kayode Ajala, distanced itself from the suspects.

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According to the church, its administrative records show that the cleric and his wife are not affiliated with the Ketu mainstream of the Celestial Church of Christ under the leadership of Reverend Emmanuel Oshoffa.

“Our administrative records confirm that the said Shepherd, Afolabi Hodonu and his wife, Success Hodonu, do not belong to the Ketu mainstream of Celestial Church of Christ under the leadership of His Eminence, Reverend Emmanuel Mobiyina Oshoffa,” Ajala said.

He further expressed concern that the name of the Celestial Church of Christ had been dragged into the controversy, describing the allegation as a “despicable act.”

Ajala added that a task force would be deployed to the Seme area of Badagry, Lagos State, to ascertain the facts surrounding the incident.

“Having said that and given the fact that the name of the Celestial Church of Christ has been dragged into this despicable act, we shall dispatch our Task Force Corps to Seme, Badagry, for a fact-finding mission of the unfolding situation,” he added