SATANIC IMPOSTOR
•Man who poses as pastor to rob churches in
police net
By Vincent Ukpong Kalu
Thursday, April
17, 2008
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•Jerome
Photo: Sun News Publishing |
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A 32-year-old man in Lagos State, John Jerome, who the police
accused of presenting himself as a pastor only to rob churches
with his gang members, is now in the police net.
Jerome, a native of Ogori in Kogi State and members of his
robbery gang, were also fingered by the police for most of
the robbery attacks on the Lagos – Ibadan expressway,
using police uniforms.
For instance, when the suspect was arrested, he was found
putting on black polo with the inscription, "Raider SCID
Panti," exclusively worn by detectives at the State Criminal
Investigations Department (SCID), Panti, Yaba, Lagos.
According to the police, the gang’s mode of operation
was to visit churches, listen to sermons, interact with members
after church services, thereby monitoring the finance of the
church before robbery operation.
The suspect was on a similar mission in a church at Somolu,
Lagos, before the bubble burst.
Daily Sun gathered that Jerome had been worshipping in the
church for about seven weeks before the church received revelation
about a wolf in sheep’s clothing among them.
It was further learnt that based on the revelation, Jerome
and the church workers were asked by the pastor of the church
to stay behind where he was confronted on his mission to the
church.
Members of the church were, however, shocked to the marrows
to see the police polo shirt when the suspect was asked to
remove his shirt and tie.
According to him, the police uniform was for robbery operation
as it was used mainly to deceive victims.
He confessed belonging to a robbery gang that had been operating
in churches, adding that he had earlier been arrested and
set free for undisclosed reason.
He also confessed how the gang forged a letter, using The
Redeemed Christian Church of God letter-head and sending same
to any pastor or church the gang targeted to rob.
In such a letter, members of the gang would tell their would-be
victims that Jerome was a pastor who was endowed with talents
that could be tapped from and later request the church to
assist him in any way possible.
Daily Sun was told that when his request was eventually granted,
he would send a text message purportedly from RCCG, thanking
the pastor for assisting "pastor John."
The suspect, it was further learnt, would be very active in
the church in such a way that every member of the church would
notice his "zeal" for God.
The suspect explained that the ploy was to monitor the church
programmes, especially, the financial transactions. He said
while in the church, he would keep members of the church abreast
of developments in the church in readiness for possible robbery
attack.
But his activities in the church at Somolu aroused the suspicion
of the pastor. According to the pastor, when he came to the
church with the letter from a pastor from RCCG, he also told
him he he was looking for a job and handed over his CV to
him. Within a short time, he came and told the pastor that
he would like to get married to an usherette who is also in
charge of the church finances. The pastor asked him why he
should be talking of marriage when he is still looking for
work.
He was said to have sent a prophetic text message to the lady,
to expect a husband before the end of the month, using the
name, Pastor Amos. Nobody knew him as Amos. The lady was said
to have told her pastor of the curious prophetic message she
had received from one Pastor Amos she had never seen nor met.
By divine insight, the pastor opened the text message he received
from the RCCG Pastor thanking him for accepting John into
his fold and surprisingly it was the same phone number.
And that was how the church immediately handed the suspect
over to the police. At the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Ikeja,
(SARS) where the suspect was detained, the officer in charge
told Daily Sun that he had earlier been arrested for robbing
a church.
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