Police arrest fake worshipper stealing phones in churches

The Police Command in Ekiti has arrested a man who allegedly specialised in stealing phones from worship centres in Ayegbaju-Ekiti and Oye-Ekiti towns.

Commissioner of Police, Ekiti Command, Akinwale Adeniran, said that the suspect was arrested on Saturday after allegedly carting away seven phones belonging to different people from Christ Apostolic Church, Ayegbaju-Ekiti.

Adeniran, in a statement issued by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Sunday Abutu, said that the suspect, who went to the church pretending to be one of their members, studied the worshippers and, in the euphoria of praise, made away with seven phones.

“The suspect, during interrogation, confessed to having been operating around Oye-Ekiti and Ayegbaju-Ekiti, with churches as his target.

“He further confessed to having stolen a lot of phones from the Redeemed Christian Church of God and New Reality Christian Centre, all in Oye-Ekiti,” he said.

The police commissioner said that the investigation revealed that the suspect, after meeting his target, normally sent the stolen phones through motor parks to Lagos, where his friend would assist him in selling them and send the proceeds back to him through an online transfer.

He, however, said that the seven phones he stole during his last operation at CAC, Ayegbaju-Ekiti, had been recovered from him.

Adeniran further stated that some of the victims of the suspect’s atrocities had shown up at the police station and had identified him and their stolen phones.

He said that the suspect would be arraigned in court immediately after the conclusion of the investigation.