Armed Robbers Storm Church In Lagos; Steal Cash, Phones and Tried To Rapé The Ladies

No fewer than 15 armed robbers invaded the
Christ Apostolic Church in Alagbado area of
Lagos, stealing an estimated cash of N2million
and about 40 mobile phones. The robbers, who
operated for about 20 minutes inside the church,
were said to have also attempted to rapé a few
of the ladies in church service before they left
the church premises.
It was gathered that the heavily armed men
came around 2am last Friday while the over 450
congregation was engrossed in a prayer session.
"The vigil actually started around 12
midnight. Some of us observed a man who
came in around 1:30am. He was seated in
the women’s section. About four persons
tried persuading him to change seat,
including the pastor, but he refused . So
they left him.
"I observed him going out several times to
make phone calls. At about 2am, I
overheard him saying, ‘start coming, they
are praying’. Few minutes later, I heard a
gunshot."
Said a member of the church who craved
anonymity. The head usher of the church was
said to have been shot at close range, when he
tried closing the door against the robbers, who
he originally thought were arriving late for the
programme. The bullet shattered the glass at
the entrance, and landed on the pulpit.
When the gun men got in, the church members
were said to have been ordered to lie face down,
while they started ransacking them.
One of the church leaders said, “They positioned
themselves at the church’s major entrances.
They collected money, phones and recharge
cards. They started shouting, ‘where is your
pastor?’ They took the church offering and
wanted to rape some of our women. In the 20
years of my being in the ministry, I have never
seen such effrontery before.”
The Pastor of the church was said to have
sneaked out through the exit and dodged behind
a window , where he viewed everything going on.
It was learnt that the gang leader, who wore a
mask, became angry and started arguing with a
member of the gang over a phone that was
snatched from one of the church members.
The source said, “It must have been God
working at that point. During the argument, this
young man suddenly pulled off his mask and
started fighting the other robber. They had a
heated argument over a phone they had just
snatched without knowing that the pastor was
looking at them.”
The informant who first arrived the church could
not escapee. “Apart from me, there were three
other people who saw him. A particular member
of the church even told us that he was the one
who grabbed her phone while the robbers were
stealing items. He wanted to follow the robbers
when they were escaping, but we held him till
the police arrived.”
According to Punch, the gang leader, who led
the church operation and angrily pulled off his
mask, was the son of a traditional ruler. The guy,
identified simply as Ade, had been arrested, but
there had been high-powered influences seeking
his release from police custody.