The Ondo State Police Command says it has rescued at least 77 people, mostly children, from a church in the state.
Ondo State police spokesperson SP Funmilayo Odunlami told BBC Hausa that the people had been gathered at the church for months with the promise that Jesus Christ would appear again during a lecture.
She added that they had arrested the local pastor of Valentino and his deputy. However, she denied that they were hidden in an underground church.
Pictures and videos circulating on social media showed the men, children and adults, in vehicles where the survivors were said to be on their way to the Ondo police headquarters in Akure, the state capital.
Earlier the force posted on its Twitter account on Saturday that it was investigating reports of "mass abductions" in the Valentino area.
Police say some of the rescued people have been in the church since January 2022, where they are sleeping in a basement.
"They were told that a lecture would be held in April where Jesus Christ would return," said SP Odunlami. "But they were later told that there would be a lecture in December.
"The mother of one of them said her son has been missing since January and was spotted there."
Also, some parents have told the police that their children have stopped going to school because they are waiting for Jesus' return as promised by the church.
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