It was gathered that the action of the policemen was connected with an ongoing investigation into an allegation that the founder and pastor of the church, Gbenga Akinbiyi, was engaging in fetish practices.

The policemen were said to have been sent from the office of the Inspector-General of Police, Force Headquarters, Abuja.

A source in the church told The PUNCH on Tuesday that some former members wrote a petition that the founder buried fetish objects at the altar in order to draw more crowd to the church.

According to the source, things fell apart between the embattled pastor and some foundation members after he broke away from CAC and changed the name of the church some years ago.

The source said, “After he changed the name of the church, some foundation and prominent members of the church observed that he was derailing from the real Christian doctrine and spirituality.

“They also observed that the pastor planted some fetish materials at the altar. Many of them left the church.

“They also wrote a petition to the police to investigate the pastor. That must have been what made the policemen to dig up the altar.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Femi Joseph, said the policemen went to the church as part of the ongoing investigation into some allegations against the pastor.

“There are some allegations against the pastor of the church, but we can’t disclose them until after our investigation. What our men did in the church was part of the ongoing investigation,” he stated.

When contacted, the cleric said, “I did not plant anything at the altar; it was the handiwork of some of my former members.

I was the one that petitioned the Inspector-General of Police, initially, they didn’t want to dig the altar; I was the one that insisted that the altar must be dug. Everyone was there with the policemen on that day and they did not find anything planted at the altar.

PUNCH