Baby stolen in church found 2 years after

• Sold for N400, 000 • Abductor dies after confession

Two years ago, the peace of the Winners Chapel, headed by Bishop David Oyedepo, was figuratively broken, when a two-year-old baby was stolen during Sunday service.

  The baby, Praise Eleng, twin daughter of a plumber living in Satellite Town, Lagos, was brought to church with her sister, Glory and handed over to the children’s department, at the Winners Chapel headquarters, Otta, Ogun State. By the time church service ended, she was nowhere to be found. That was on April 17, 2011, on Easter day.

Recently, that peace was restored, as the stolen baby, now four years old, was found in Enugu State, thus ending two years agony of Mr. Samuel Eleng and his wife. However,  controversy still rages over the man, who stole the child, as the Winners Chapel claimed that he died in the church premises after making a confession.

The Elengs’ two-year agony started when they attended a special Easter programme, tagged anointing service, with their twin daughters. The twins were duly handed over to the children’s department and tags were issued to proved their admission, as is the practice in the church. While worship was going on, somebody took away one of the twins.

As Saturday Sun reported then, when the Elengs came to claim their kids, at the end of the service, only Glory was handed over to them.  That marked the beginning of a search, which lasted for two years.

Revealing how he was contacted when the baby was found, the over-joyous father sensationally told the story of a miracle. Beaming with smiles, on Monday, June 26, at his shop, in Satellite Town, Lagos, Eleng stated that the call he received from a certain Mrs. Adewale, a policewoman in Abeokuta, Ogun State, is the most important he has ever got in his life.

He stated: “It was on Saturday, June 15. I was in the shop, when one Mrs. Adewale, policewomen, called me from Ogun State telling me that my daughter had been found. I was surprised because it wasn’t Mrs. Adewale that handled the case. I wondered how she knew about the child.

“I had called one of my brothers to accompany me to the station. When we got there, I saw my girl, Praise. I wept like a baby because I was filled with joy. I wondered if God could work like this. I asked the policemen how they found the baby. They said they weren’t the ones that found her. It is the miracle of God.”

It will be recalled that when Praise got missing, two years ago, Bishop Oyedepo had told the parents, after an unsuccessful search: “I have not seen any evil signal here.” He assured the parents that the baby would be found.

Until two weeks ago, the bishop’s assurance may not have meant much to the girl’s parents, as they lost hope on her.  Indeed, their agony increased each time the other twin, Glory, asked after her sister.

Eleng recalled one day when his wife dressed up Gloria in Praise’s clothes. “The next thing she (Glory) asked was: ‘Mummy, where is my sister, Praise?’”

Baby thief from hell

Samuel stated that when he got to the police, after receiving Mrs. Adewale’s call, he asked to be shown the man who stole his daughter, but he was told that the people who brought the baby to the station claimed the man died after confession. According to him, “I asked them again how my baby was found and they explained how it happened. They were in the station when people brought the child from the church to them, saying that somebody came to the church and confessed that he was the person who took the child from the church.  They said the man is from Enugu State. The man, according to them, confessed that he had been receiving torture from God for stealing my baby. He sold the baby for N400, 000 and used the money to buy a car. Armed robbers stole the car that same day.

“According to information, he lost his mother also. He suffered diabetes and stroke. He became blind. And they said he died after returning the child and confessing. I guess that with what happened to him, he didn’t want a curse on his family. That could explain why he came to the bishop to confess. According to information, the bishop asked him about the child? He said he would take them to the lady he sold the child to at Igando, Lagos. They went and arrested the woman. The husband of the woman went to Enugu, to the village where the child was kept, in Nkanu Local Government Area, to bring the child and handed her to the bishop, who said he would not take the laws into his hands. That was how he invited the police.

“After the child had gone through hospital checks, doctors pronounced her sound. That was how Mrs. Adewale called me on June 15. It was a miracle. It is only God that can perform such miracle. For me, all doors were closed, but I was still praying and God answered my prayers.”

On whether the man, who stole the baby is a member of the Winners Chapel, Eleng said:  “I don’t know, but they said the person confessed openly. I wasn’t there when he made the confession. However, they said that he confessed to have taken the baby away with a motorcycle. The place is fortified so much that it would be difficult for a stranger to come there and pick up any child.

“It is unfortunate that the man is now dead. Had he been alive, he would have revealed how he did it. It is a question I have not been able to get answer to. They said he drove into the church with the motorcycle, the day he stole the child, and saw the children loitering. He didn’t have any particular child in mind. He just picked one. But the way the place was built, there are security all over. No child will loiter. I still think the confession is not genuine. How did he beat security?”

“I don’t believe this story because the children’s department, in the church is not porous. The place is filled with security all over. It is only God that knew how it happened.”

Eleng wondered how the baby thief could have left with the child without the usually tag handed to parents. “That is why I said it’s a big lie. How can you tell me that the four solid ladies there will be so careless as to let the children out, especially during service?”

Recalling what happened the day the child got mission, he stated that when he went to the children’s department to pick his babies, “Glory was inside. It was the chair Praise sat down that was empty.”

On the time lag between when the man confessed and when they called him, Eleng said: “they said the man came on Tuesday and on Saturday I was invited. I must add that the police were trying to play games before releasing the child to me. We had to call the bishop and told him that the police refused to release my child. The bishop said the man confessed to them and he gave the police the child, according to the law, telling them to hand over the child. The Bishop drove to the station and picked the child from us.”

He revealed that the man’s confession was recorded, adding: “I watched it in the church. I don’t know if it is shown on public television. I saw the whole thing as the work of God.”

Justifying why he asked the police to close the case, after his baby was found, Eleng stated: “The Police are not the father of my girl. I have right over my life. If I say I don’t want to proceed, no one has any right to stop me. The person the dead kidnapper sold the child to asked me if I wanted to proceed with the case. I said no. Now that my child has been found I am not interested in any case. The police asked me if I wanted to continue with the case, I said no.”

Eleng said he had forgiven the kidnapper, even though he was told that he had died. “ I have forgiven him.  They said after he finished his confession, he fell  and died in the church.”

On his feeling about the whole thing and his relationship with Bishop Oyedepo, he said: “Scripturally, thanksgiving must be giving to God and the prophet must be honoured. After my third child, Excel, was delivered, I was with the bishop in his office. I brought the issue of my missing daughter to him. He said he had not seen any evil signal, adding that we should be calm, with the assurance that the child would come back.

“Whenever we visit the bishop, at times, he gives me transport money. The first time when this thing happened, when we stayed in the guest house, he gave us N50, 000.”

Commenting on the identity of the person, who bought his child, Eleng said: “I have nothing to do with them. It is only the husband that came here. He was apologising and said he would like us to be friends. I said no, I don’t need them any longer. Even when he offered me money, I said no. I never wanted him to come to my shop. He got the address of this place through the IPO.

“He claimed he didn’t know the child was stolen and he said they have four children. I don’t have his phone number. I don’t even know their names.”

Culled from Saturday Sun