The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) has called for counseling for parents defending Pastor Ifediorah Joseph, who was arrested in Rivers State for flogging over 20 children during a so-called “spiritual cleansing” ceremony, as confirmed by NAPTIP official Nwamaka Ikediashi on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on August 15, 2025.
The pastor, along with church welfare secretary Promise Nwikegha and minister Deborah Ohia, was paraded by the Eneka Police Station after a viral video showed them whipping unclad minors, aged five to nine, with palm fronds and using pigeon blood and water in a three-day program.
Ikediashi labeled the act “inhuman treatment and torture,” stressing that parental consent does not justify child abuse and that parents, also victims of ignorance, need counseling to understand the implications.
Shockingly, some parents and children appeared at the Port Harcourt police station, singing and dancing in support of the pastor, with one mother claiming, “My daughter was among the children purified.
The message was that death was in the air.” The incident has sparked outrage among child rights advocates, with public anger seen over the parents’ defense and calls for stronger awareness campaigns against harmful religious practices.
NAPTIP and the police are continuing investigations, emphasizing that consent is immaterial when minors are involved.
