I am a born-again youth leader by day and an armed robber by night – Suspect (PICTURED)

Nemesis has caught up with a youth leader of the Living Faith
Church in Okene, Kogi State, who professed to be a born-
again Christian but was the leader of a 10-man robbery gang.
The suspect (name withheld) who was described as very
popular in the area, allegedly led his gang to break into the
office of the pastor of the church in the night and carted away
over N315,000 belonging to the church.
Ironically, he was one of the early callers to the church the next
morning, and joined in raining curses on the perpetrators of
the crime. Parading the suspects yesterday, at the police
headquarters in Lokoja, the state Commissioner of Police,
Mohammed Musa Katsina, described the arrested suspects as
a sledgehammer robbery gang. He said that the youth leader,
"who led the robbery operation was seen the following
morning, raining curses on the robbers and even invoking
Holy Ghost fire on them, and now, the Holy Ghost fire has
caught up with him."
He said that the gang made up of bricklayers and block
moulders specialize in breaking into shops and private
residences, carting away goods and money. The
Commissioner stated that the suspects were armed with guns
and other dangerous weapons during their operations He said
that they normally disguise as casual labourers going around
residences and shops in search of potential victims. The police
boss said the mother of the gang leader is a chorister in the
same church. Answering reporters' questions, the arrested
youth leader confessed that he played the born-again youth
leader in the day, and armed robber at night.
He confessed that he has led 27 robberies within Okene and
Lokoja as well as Adavi local government areas. The Assistant
Pastor of the church, Pastor Aloysius Momoh, who expressed
surprise at the youth leader's involvement in the crime, said
that the church went into seven-day prayer and fasting shortly
after the church was robbed, and God warned those behind
the dastardly act to repent between May and December, last
year, or be disgraced. One of the victims, Paul Ikunagus, said
over N2 million cash was stolen from his shop while one of
them said he lost N5.8 million to the robbers who invaded his
shop last December.
All the victims who spoke to Sunday Sun commended the
police in the state under the leadership of Musa Katsina for
bringing the elusive gang members to book. Items recovered
from the suspects included one locally made gun, a jerk knife,
two big hammers, handsets and clothes.