- By Halimah Olamide
The Ekiti State command of the Nigeria police has arrested a man who is accused of serially stealing phones in churches while posing as worshiper.
The man is alleged to be 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 praises, made away with seven phones.
“The suspect, during interrogation, confessed to have been operating around Oye-Ekiti and Ayegbaju-Ekiti, with churches as his target.
“He further confessed to have 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 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 to sell them and send the proceeds back to him through 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 showed 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 investigation.