Police in Nigeria say they have rescued 77 people, including children, from a church basement in the southwestern state of Ondo.
Reports say some of the people had been in the Whole Bible Believers Church for as long as six months and had been convinced they would soon witness the second coming of Jesus Christ.
While some of the people are reported to have been kidnapped, others came freely. One young woman told Punch, a Nigerian publication, that she had decided to join the church because “my parents were leading me away from God and I want to make heaven.”
Authorities conducted the raid on the church after complaints from parents.
The pastor and other members of the church have been arrested, police said.
