How RCCG Saved Us From Prison – Ex-Inmates Tell Their Stories
Two former inmates have shared how the support of the Redeemed Christian Church of God gave them hope and helped them overcome despair while serving time in prison.
Speaking during a conference organised by the RCCG Prison and Hospital Ministry at the House of Favour Parish, Redemption City, Ogun State on Saturday, the ex-inmates, Saheed Adebayo and Bayo Adelakun (not real names), shared emotional stories of how faith and free legal support turned their lives around.
Adebayo, a 49-year-old Master’s degree holder in English Language, spent 14 years at the Kirikiri Maximum Correctional Centre over a kidnapping charge.
He told the audience that his troubles began when a personal dispute with a friend spiralled out of control.
“I had an issue with a friend who left his car in my care while he travelled abroad. Unfortunately, the car developed an engine fault due to an oil leak. I tried explaining through emails, but by the time he returned, someone else had wrongly told him I had sold the car.
“One thing led to another, and I asked a group of boys to rough him up; something I deeply regret. They detained and beat him for two days. That led to my arrest and I was charged with kidnapping.
“I regret everything. If I hadn’t walked away from God’s presence, maybe I wouldn’t have ended up in prison,” he said.
Adebayo urged youths to avoid bad company and stay committed to their faith.
Recounting his ordeal, Adelakun said he was arrested in 2020 and spent four years in custody standing trial for murder after a colleague died during a confrontation with him.
“On May 20, 2020, I left home for work and never returned. My colleague provoked me, and in the heat of defending myself, he fell and died,” he recalled.
While awaiting trial, Adelakun said he had a dream where RCCG General Overseer, Pastor Enoch Adeboye, appeared and instructed someone not to handcuff him, saying: “Leave my son alone.”
Encouraged by the dream, he said he clung to hope and faith.
According to him, his breakthrough came when a legal team from the RCCG, led by Pastor Ariyo Popoola, took up his case.
He was discharged and acquitted on May 12, 2025.
Both men are among the 2,181 individuals impacted by the RCCG Prison and Hospital Ministry between May 2024 and April 2025 through spiritual, legal, and material support.
RCCG National Overseer, Pastor Sunday Akande, said the ministry’s mission was to bring hope to the forgotten and abandoned.
“We provide spiritual, emotional, and practical support to people in correctional centres and hospitals,” he said.
Popoola added that the ministry had continued its outreach despite economic challenges, working in remand homes, police stations, street corners, and old people’s homes.
“We’ve distributed food items, clothing, Bibles, and paid GCE fees for inmates. Many inmates enrolled in the National Open University have benefited from our support, and our pro bono legal services have led to the release of many,” he said.
