The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons has said some parents defending a Rivers State pastor arrested for flogging children during a “spiritual cleansing” need counselling.
NAPTIP’s Rivers State official, Nwamaka Ikediashi, made the remark on Friday during an interview on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief, while giving an update on the incident.
Ikediashi described the flogging as “a total case of child abuse,” stressing that the parents were also victims.
Ikediashi said, “The parents are victims and they are supposed to be made to understand the implications of this whole thing, and that can only be made possible via counselling.”
The pastor, identified as Ifediorah Joseph, was arrested by the police for flogging over 20 children during a three-day programme in Port Harcourt under the guise of “spiritual cleansing.”
Following his arrest, some of the children and their parents stormed the police station, singing and dancing to show solidarity with him.
Channels TV reports that one parent told journalists she consented to the act, claiming the ritual was meant to save the children from a looming threat.
“My daughter was among the children that was purified. The message was that death was in the air, and they should purify the children. They did the purification with pigeon blood, water and palm fruit,” the parent said.
The NAPTIP official added, “The parents are victims as well because they do not understand the implications, but if they did understand, they would not let their children be subjected to such inhuman treatment and torture.”
The Rivers State Police Command said investigations into the matter were still ongoing.
Authorities said the pastor organised a three-day programme involving minors, which he claimed was inspired by the Holy Spirit.
The footage, shared on social media, triggered a swift police response.
Officers stormed the church, apprehended the pastor and several church members, and rescued the children, who have since been placed under protective care.
