Church thief escapes death in Benue

A suspected thief who carted away offering money on Sunday morning at a Dunamis Church located along Modern Market road in Makurdi in Benue State escaped death by the whisker after he was pursued and caught.

The suspect identified as Terkaa Tsamber, was said to have tiptoed into the church office while the third service was ongoing in the main building and stole the money collected as offering from the first and second service as well as other valuable items worth thousands of naira.

But luck ran out on him, when a little girl from the children church spotted him and raised an alarm which attracted worshippers who chased him after he scaled through the church fence to hide himself in a house bordering the religious premises.

The suspected thief was said to have also threatened the little girl with a gun while he tried to run away just as he did to those who pursued him but he was however caught when the pursuers discovered there was no bullet in his gun.

Resident pastor in charge of the Dunamis branch, Pastor Joseph Idakwoji, said it was few minutes into the third service, when he heard some members of the church shouting and screaming at the thief.

“Few members who went after him, caught him and brought him to the church. The area boys wanted to apply juggle justice on him but I prevented them and I called the police who came and picked him to the station,” he said.

Idakwoji added that only on Saturday morning he discovered that armed robbers broke into his office after the previous Friday worship and wonder’s night and made away with some items including handsets, offertory, packs of five alive and stabilizer.

He said, “When I came to the church office on Saturday after our last worship and wonder night, I discovered that thieves invaded the church and made away with things from my office. So, I prayed, laid curse on them and anointed the entrance they came through.

“I told God that am not going to lock the office back and that God should manifest his power and glory by allowing whoever that broke into my office to come back and steal again in the day time so that he would be caught. It took the intervention of the area boys and some members of the church to arrest the thief.”

The suspect, however, appealed to the pastor not to let them (mob) kill him, saying that he regretted his action and would never steal again if let out of the hook.

Contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Sewuse Anene, confirmed the incident, saying that the suspect is in the command’s custody after he escaped being lynched by mob.

Anene said that the suspect belong to a gang of boys who specialised in breaking into people’s houses while they are in church to steal valuables, adding, that he (suspect) had stolen from a building close to the church and also entered the church office to cart away things before he was caught and handed to the police.