Armed robbers in Delta State on Thursday ransacked a popular Pentecostal church in Umutu community, Kwale area of the state, getting away with the church offering and worshippers’ handsets at gunpoint, Leadership Reports
The church (name withheld) was attacked after the robbers waited for hours in the midst of the worshippers until the church had collected its offerings from members running into thousands of naira, before they struck, a source told Leadership newspaper.
The robbers were said to have gone straight into the church armed with AK-47 rifles and made their way to the offering box where they discovered a huge amount of money. They had allegedly ordered members of the church to lie on the floor with their eyes closed before they escaped in a Peugeot 504 without a number plate.
Police public relations officer in the state, DSP Celestina Kalu, confirmed the incident, adding that during the robbery, the robbers forced members of the church to submit their handsets and other valuable items at gunpoint.
She said that the police, acting on a tip-off, gave chase to the robbers, who later abandoned the Peugeot 504 and three guns including expended cartridges.
She added that the police are investigating the whereabouts of the robbers.
DSP Kalu said that three young men were arrested in the process, who, upon interrogation, confessed to be pick-pockets who have been robbing unsuspecting residents of the community in recent times.
It may be recalled that recently robbers attacked a church in Ibara GRA area of Abeokuta, Ogun state making way with N6millon.
