Zachariah Barnabas was a drummer at the Kingdom of Glory Church in Lagos before he vanished. His family has accused Pastor Olayinka Samuel, the general overseer of the church, of attempting to thwart an inquiry into his whereabouts.
According to information obtained by City Round, the 23-year-old, who had worked as a paid drummer at the church for around four years, vanished on October 11, 2023, following what is believed to have been a religious program.
Janet, Barnabas’ sister, accused the church GO of misrepresenting events to the family, including setting off a false alert that her brother had been discovered in a hotel, while speaking with our correspondent over the phone.
Get Instantly Update By: Joining Our Whatapps and Telegram Channel
“On October 7, 2023, Barnabas left home to play a drum set at a church,” the woman stated. We couldn’t get in touch with him directly because he had already had his phone stolen. His return was scheduled on the tenth. However, he used the phone of a fellow church worker to call my mother and let her know that he wouldn’t be returning till the following day. That concluded our communication with him.
“The matter was reported to the Igando police station, but until one of us called them a few days later, we didn’t see anything tangible. According to the officer, the pastor stated that the police shouldn’t conduct an inquiry until a specific day when his followers would be around.
The pastor became irate when the family entered the church, accusing them of interfering with his worship.
Israel, Barnabas’s brother, also spoke, saying, “I asked whether he had seen him smoke or pierce any part of his body because the pastor told us not to involve the police because my brother is a cultist.”
He said once more that Barnabas had slept with around four girls in the church. And I couldn’t stop wondering how that related to his disappearance.
More than two months have passed and Barnabas is still missing. Since Barnabas was last seen in his care, we want the government to assist us in forcing the pastor to reveal his whereabouts.
Samuel said that the missing drummer had attended a Bible study at the church on October 10 and that the family was attempting to damage his reputation as well as the church’s.
He went home as usual as they wrapped up their drumming about nine o’clock in the evening.
I was informed that he went to get his hair chopped after they saw him on the eleventh. They claimed that after taking N3,000 from one of our members, he departed.
“They indicated the mother had gone to file a report with the area command. They were accusing no one in the church anymore; instead, they were accusing me directly, claiming that I was involved. How am I going to handle him? He informed our correspondent, “They’re attempting to ruin the church’s reputation and destroy my name.