The Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide has reacted to the arrest of Pastor Afolabi Hodonu by operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency over alleged possession of 11 kilograms of skunk, stating that he is not a member of the church.

In a statement issued on Sunday by the NDLEA spokesperson, Femi Babafemi, Hodonu and his wife were arrested on Thursday at the Gbaji checkpoint in Lagos by operatives of the anti-drug agency, with 11 kilogrammes of skunk concealed in their vehicle.

Upon interrogation, the suspect presented himself to the NDLEA operatives as the shepherd in charge of a parish located around the Seme border axis in Badagry.

According to the statement, the couple’s arrest 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 arrest of the couple followed the apprehension of a fake security agent, Sunday Samuel, 35, at the same checkpoint on Monday, March 30, while conveying 24.5kg of skunk from Seme border to Lagos,” Babafemi stated, noting that the operation was part of broader enforcement activities carried out nationwide within the past week.

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Responding to the development, the church’s Head of Media and Publicity, Kayode Ajala, said internal records do not recognise Hodonu or his wife as members of the church’s recognised structure under its Ketu leadership.

“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,” he said.

Ajala expressed displeasure over the affiliation of the church’s name to the incident, describing it as unfortunate and damaging.

He added that the church would dispatch fact-finding delegates to Badagry to verify the circumstances surrounding the case and establish clarity on the suspect’s claims of affiliation.

“Given 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.