Dozens of people have been rescued from a Nigerian church basement where they were kept in confinement as they awaited the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
The Ondo State Police said 77 people had been freed from The Whole Bible Believers Church, including 26 children and eight teenagers.
Some of the members had been there since August 2021, while others got there in January, Sky News reported.
A police spokesperson said the church members were told by one of the pastors the rapture will take place in April, but later said it had been pushed back to September and encouraged members to stay behind and wait. Children were also told to abandon school to witness the event.
"Preliminary investigation revealed that one Pastor Josiah Peter Asumosa, an assistant pastor in the church, was the one who told the members that rapture will take place in April, but later said it has been changed to September 2022 and told the young members to obey only their parents in the Lord," police press officer Funmilayo Odunlami told the BBC.
Rapture is a belief held by some Christians that at the Second Coming of Christ all Christian believers will be taken to heaven.
The raid came after a mother complained her child was missing.
Sky News reported some members resisted being rescued and refused to leave.
A police spokesperson said they are investigating the suspected mass abduction.
