Police nab man who specialised in stealing during church service

By Rotimi Omole

The suspect, Baba ShehuChurches and mosques are sacred places of worship which adherents of both Christianity and Islam hold in very high esteem.

It is also believed that anything kept in the church or mosque is safe just like any one in trouble who runs into the religious places are always allowed that safety until such a time that the person leaves the safety of the house of God.

But for Baba Shehu who hails from Borno State, the mosque is the safest place to do illegal business. Despite being a muslim, Baba Shehu, every Friday, always dressed well for the Jumat service which he normally observed either at the Central Mosque or the Mosque at Kpakungu along the Minna- Bida road.

However, while others were busy putting their supplications before God, Baba Shehu always busied himself stealing the shoes of the worshipers.

He had been in the business for several years until nemesis caught up with him last Friday. Baba Shehu now in police net had, as was his practice, gone to the Kpakungu Mosque for the prayer but in doing so went with a big bag. Reports have it that while others were praying, he was busy stocking the bag with assorted pairs of shoes and slippers of other worshippers unknown to him that one of those in the mosque had spotted him.

With the prayer over, Baba Shehu tried to escape but the man who spotted him alerted others and he was subsequently apprehended and handed over to the police. When the police took the suspect to his house, they were shocked to find heaps of stolen shoes and slippers in his room. Baba Shehu also confessed that he specialised in stealing clothes spread outside to dry by their owners.

The suspect confessed to have stolen ten pairs of jeans trousers, 15 shirts and some flowing gowns found in his apartment. He also told the police that he always disposed off the stolen items as tokunbo in the markets in the rural areas of the state.

Police Public Relations Officer ASP Richard Oguche confirmed the story, saying the suspect would be taken to court once investigations into the matter had been completed.