‘Fisayo Soyombo, the founder and editor-in-chief of the Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ), received repeated phone calls from six strange numbers within a five-day spell after the release of his latest investigation, ‘Arrows of God’.

Soyombo’s investigation for FIJ uncovered how Arrows of God, one of Nigeria’s biggest orphanages, had been selling babies under the table in exchange for cash. Notably, the orphanage is owned by Rev. Lt. Col. D. C. Ogo, an ordained Minister, a former Principal of the Nigerian Army School of Nursing and Midwifery, a former Chief Matron, and a retired Army Colonel.

After FIJ released the story on Wednesday, August 10, and followed it up with a documentary the following day, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) took custody of the baby sold to FIJ, while officials of the police and the Lagos State Ministry of Youth and Social Development arrested a staff of the Ajah headquarters of the orphanage. They also sealed all four outlets of the orphanage in Lagos, an action that was soon reciprocated in Anambra State with the sealing off of the Anambra outlet of the orphanage by the state’s Ministry of Youth and Social Development.

While these moves were going on, Soyombo was receiving repeated calls from phone numbers whose users had nothing to say but were ostensibly connected to the story.

The first of the numbers rang him on Thursday, August 11, but ended the call immediately it was answered. When Soyombo returned the call, the caller answered and then ended it. The cycle was repeated two more times.

The call from the second strange number came in on Friday, August 12, with the caller claiming to have found the number online and wanting to make an enquiry about Arrows of God. The users of the next three numbers did not say a word each time they called. And when they were called back, they rejected the calls.

FIJ ran a Truecaller check on the lines and found that they were registered in suspicious names, such as ‘Vicki Casco’, ‘Oku’, ‘Victoria Channel Ede’, ‘Abigel’, ‘Francis Queeneth Malvina’, and ‘My Junior Brother’.

Two of the numbers were found to be available on WhatsApp. Strange Number 1, registered as Vicki Casco, has the profile picture of a man, same as Strange Number 4. However, FIJ couldn’t verify if the pictures were those of the users of the lines or not.

It is not the first time Soyombo has received subtle or barefaced threats after releasing an investigation.

In October 2022, after releasing the first part of ‘Prophets of their Pockets’, a seven-part investigative series, Olatosho Oshoffa, head of the international headquarters of the Celestial Church of Christ, responded by saying: “Believe me, wherever you are, start asking for forgiveness of sins. Wherever you are, whatever your name may be, start asking for forgiveness of sin, because you only left your home with the hope of destroying the image of the church; not for anything else. Nobody does it and goes scot-free.”

After Part III of the investigation was released, an anonymous user operating with the pseudonym Georgeo Amani emailed Soyombo to say he would die mysteriously.

Despite the threats, the Eternal Sacred Order of Cherubim and Seraphim Church in Yaba, Lagos, demoted and suspended their prophets documented in the investigation. FIJ believes one of those prophets is behind the Georgeo Amani email.