A 42-year-old man, Samuel Otasi, from Bayelsa state has allegedly poisoned his three sons.

He took the drastic decision after a church prophecy claimed they were wizards.

According to police at the Igbogini Divisional Headquarters, Otasi forced his sons, aged 10, 12, and 14, to drink Sniper, a deadly insecticide, with the help of a relative. The chilling act was reportedly influenced by a prophecy from one George Odugo, who claimed in church that the children had been bewitched by their mother to destroy his life and destiny.

TVC reported that one of the boys miraculously survived and managed to escape from the bush where they were tied up and poisoned. He later revealed how his father and uncle forced them to drink the chemical, leaving visible rope marks on their bodies.

Medical staff who treated the surviving child confirmed that he arrived unconscious and in critical condition. Upon regaining strength, he informed authorities that his two siblings were still in the bush. By the time the police arrived, the other two boys had already died.

The wooden crates used to carry their bodies from the forest were shown to journalists during a visit by the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police to the crime scene.

The suspect, Samuel Otasi, remains in custody and is expected to face trial. Meanwhile, his guy mother, who lost two grandsons in the incident and now has her son in detention, broke down in tears at the police station.

Police have warned parents to separate personal marital issues from their children, noting that innocent lives should never become victims of misguided spiritual claims.