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Old video of children flogged during church ritual in Port Harcourt resurfaces

Nurudeen Akewushola
Nurudeen Akewushola
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File Photo : Rivers State Map

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A video showing children being flogged during a church ritual in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has resurfaced online, raising concerns about the treatment of minors.

The video was shared on Facebook by a user, Nwalozie Justin, with the caption: “Man raises concern after seen Children being maltreated in a church in Port Harcourt.”

The post has generated over 300 likes and more than 1000 shares as of 15 October 2026.

CLAIM

A video circulating on Facebook shows children being maltreated during a church programme in Port Harcourt.

FINDINGS

Findings by The FactCheckHub show that the claim is MISLEADING if presented as a new incident, because the footage is linked to an incident reported in August 2025.

On 14 August 2025, TheCable reported that the Rivers State Police Command had arrested Pastor Ifediorah Onyeibor Joseph over the alleged mistreatment of children during a church programme.

The report said the video showed at least 20 children kneeling and holding palm fronds while a man struck them with the leaves. The incident was reported to have occurred at Our Lord Victory Covenant Mission in Eneka, Obio-Akpor Local Government Area of Rivers State.

In a separate report published on the same day, Channels Television reported that the pastor and other church members were arrested after the footage went viral. The programme was described as a three-day “spiritual cleansing” exercise.

The Rivers State Police Command’s account, as reported by Premium Times, said the children were rescued and an investigation commenced.

These reports establish that the incident shown in the circulating footage was already in the news in August 2025. The fact that the Facebook post appears to have been published recently does not mean the incident itself happened recently.

VERDICT

The claim is MISLEADING. The footage relates to a church ritual involving children in Eneka, Port Harcourt, reported in August 2025.

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Nurudeen Akewushola is a fact-checker with FactCheckHub. He has authored several fact checks which have contributed to the fight against information disorder. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 via Twitter.

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