The Eighth Commandment, “Thou Shall Not Steal” is far from being observed by temple robbers, who are committed to stealing from worshippers, church offerings and tithes. While true congregants gather for weekly activities, they strike, even as the Scripture says “Let him that stole, steal no more, but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needs”
It was a peaceful night when the children of God had gathered for a vigil, that the children of darkness congregated too, to do their father’s behest. No wonder the Bible said “where the children of light are gathered; the children of darkness will be there also.”
Mrs. Tricia Ibeh of Vision of God Bible Church, Festac Town, Lagos, will not, in a hurry, forget her husband’s encounter with some night marauders, who invaded the church premises during one of its vigils and locked the worshippers up, dispossessed them of their valuables and had her husband mercilessly beaten.
It was already a few minutes past 11pm that fateful night, while night clubbers were still strolling down the streets of Festac in search of suitable clubs to attend, that three temple robbers entered the church on the lonely part of First Avenue, locked up worshippers and collected their valuables.
The three criminals, who came into the church on a commercial motor bike, initially parked beside the generation house and defecated on the green grass thereof, which attracted one of the church’s ushers, Mr. Anthony Ibeh, who made futile effort to stop him from defecating there.
Perhaps, this was the action that turned one of the criminals into the church to ‘scan’ through the church to discover what phones and other valuables worshippers came to vigil with.
When he was done with his survey, he stepped out, and soon after, he returned with one other person bearing a pistol, while the third man mounted guard on the bike parked outside. Meanwhile, the engine of the bike was never turned off in readiness to take off swiftly.
The pistol-wielding robber demanded to see the usher who had tried to stop him from defecating. It was then, that Tricia’s husband, Anthony, came out and they descended on him with serious beatings, calling him a ‘wise man’.
While the beating was going on, the other one was busy collecting worshippers’ cell phones, ipads, handbags, laptops and money. They didn’t stop there, as they demanded offerings and tithe money.
With this merciless beating, Ibeh’s wife started begging and rolling on the floor, appealing to the criminals not to kill her husband but this didn’t stop them as the beating continued.
She narrates: “I will never forget that night when armed robbers almost killed my husband. We had gathered for a vigil and three armed robbers came into our church and beat up my husband to the point of death. I was crying, begging them not to kill him. I thought my husband would die.
“One of them came in while we were sleeping and waiting for 12 midnight to start prayers. I wouldn’t know what happened earlier but I saw two armed robbers in the church. One was collecting people’s phones while the other was beating my husband. They locked the door so that nobody could go out or come in.
“They collected all the phones they saw, including my pastor’s wife’s iPhone seven, ipad, handbags, laptops and others. They asked my pastor’s wife to provide the offering but she told them that she didn’t have access to the offering. They beat my husband because he tried to stop one of them from defecating beside the church.
“Usually, people charge their phones, power banks, ipads, torchlights and musical laptops in the church during vigil. So, one of the criminals came in first and went round the church. I am sure it was what he saw that he told others before one followed him in.
“Since then, I have been very careful at vigils and I try to discourage my husband from going out during vigils. One of us was so unfortunate that while the robbers were going, he came in with a bag and they collected it from him.”
According to her, when the pastor came out in anger, he called one of his church members who took him to the Festac Police Station to make a report, where the police listed the items collected from worshippers and their monetary value, but the church is yet to hear any favourable news from the police.
She noted that after sometime, the police instructed churches in Festac to put vigils on hold as it wasn’t safe, saying that the churches in Festac will be doing that at their own peril.
This is the persecution the Church of Christ is facing at the moment in the country. Of course, churches, like hospitals, are a converging point of both the sick and healthy. Both insane and sane go to church for different purposes. People of different characters are welcomed in the house of God with hope to get them transformed in the Lord.
While the parishioners are consumed in the act of worshiping God, the thieves and armed robbers are also committed to stealing from them.
Today, the temple robbers have found churches the best place to steal. They steal during Sunday services; special programmes and conventions; vigils; major summits, celebrations, harvest and bazaar. Thus, stealing in the church has become common place in the society.
In the big churches, it’s more because one does not know his neighbour, whether a true worshipper or a committed robber. While in small churches, it’s easier to spot strange faces in the church and beam the security searchlight on them.
In the same church, Elder (Mrs.) Jane Nwaoye, will not forget how her new Samsung phone got missing while service was on. Unknown to her, a bag-carrying young man by her side was a thief. The moment she stood from her chair, dancing and praising God, the thief picked her phone and left.
Those who saw him wouldn’t suspect that such a well-dressed young man was a thief until supposed worshipper disappeared with an over a hundred thousand naira phone.
“I saw him but there was no way I would have suspected him. He sat close to me, carrying a schoolbag. It’s obvious that is what he does. Who knows the next church he is going to,” she said in deep sorrow.
Again, Pastor Obiora Okafor recalled how thieves stole an outdoor air conditioner fixed in his office. They cut wires and AC pipe connected to it. Nobody knew what had happened until he switched on the AC and there was no response. He was forced to go out, and he discovered that they have removed the AC’s outdoor.
He said: “They also cut our expensive armour cable that supplies light to the church. Some of them come in and turn the offering and tithe boxes up-side-down and use sticks to bring out money from the tiny hole put on the top of the box from where the worshippers put in their offerings and tithes.
“Unfortunately for one of them, he was caught doing same in another church and he confessed that he and his gang were responsible for most of the stealing taking place in my church after he had received serious beating. He was eventually taken to the police station.
The thief identified as Lekan, said he and his gang usually monitor the churches on First Avenue from across the road, to know when the worshippers have gone in order to operate.
He said: “Most people you see in that place are our members. When everybody has gone, we follow the other plot and enter the church to steal from offering boxes. We come to church vigils early and pick people’s phones, bags and money while they are sleeping.
“During the service, because people are carried away, they never believe that there will be thieves in the church so they are free minded. We used the opportunity to steal from them. Church is the best place because people are carried away. If they catch anybody, they will not kill him because they are Christians.”
Churches pay security operatives for protection during vigils
Sequel to these happenings in the society, churches in Lagos and across the country, now pay security operatives for protection during vigils. There is now altar police in churches in addition to ushers and other protocols.
In Akure, the capital of Ondo State, for instance, fear is heightened following the invasion of their churches during vigils by robbers. Those churches, which insist on maintaining the church calendar of regular vigils, now pay security operatives for protection. Vigilante groups have equally profited from the situation.
Mr. Isaac Aderoboye, a member of one of the victim churches located at Leo Junction, Akure, recounted his experience while on his way home after a vigil.
“After we had finished vigil at about 3am on Saturday, some of us were going home when some armed men met us on the road. They told us they were members of a vigilante group and asked us to go back to the church as it wasn’t safe for us to go home at that time.
“We didn’t suspect that they were armed robbers. They escorted us back to the church and entered the church with us. It was when one of them closed and locked the door from inside and another brought out a pistol and ordered us to lie face down that we knew we were in trouble.
“They ordered us to drop our phones, wrist watches and laptops. In the rowdy situation, I heard one of them ask for the offering collected. They collected everything on us, especially phone money and the offering, which was their target,” he said.
According to Aderoboye, the robbers fled through the window when they heard police siren around the area.
Moji Aladegun, a regular worshipper of one of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) parishes, was however, not lucky in her escapade as she was caught on CCTV stealing worshippers’ bags. While everyone at the Praise Palace parish, New Oko Oba, Agege, Lagos State, were praying and praising God, Moji was busy stealing from the worshippers.
She was said to have stolen two handbags of church members and was making away with them when she was caught by security guards. Once she couldn’t provide satisfactory answers on ownership of the bags, policemen were invited.
Initially, while being held by a policewoman, she claimed the bags belonged to her, but after checking through the bags and there was nothing to identify her as the owner of the bags, she confessed to the crime.
Speaking on why she chose to steal in the house of God, Moji who blamed the act on the ‘devil’, said, it’s usually difficult to catch church robbers because when suspicion arose, she can easily claim that she found a missing item and tried to return it to ushers; they will believe you.
“It’s usually difficult to catch one and when they do, they can easily forgive you when you ask for forgiveness. But you will not do this in the market because they will burn the person alive. I regret my action,” she said.
However, instances of church robbery and stealing abound in Nigerian churches. Even in Winners’ Shiloh, MFM and RCCG conventions among others, stealing of handbags, bibles and cash characterise the programmes and this is why most churches are embracing security operatives, putting CCTV in churches. Head usher in one of the big churches was suspended for missing offering recently.
In July 2016, a 26-year-old man, Friday Johnson, was sentenced to one-month imprisonment by an Abuja Grade 1 Area Court, sitting in Karimo, in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), for stealing from a branch of the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministry in the Utako area of the FCT.
Johnson, who resides at 28, NTA Road, Area 11, Garki, was said to have broken into the church and stolen money from its offering box and at the time he was arrested, the sum of N15, 000 was recovered from him.
Recently, four security guards of a church in Lagos State, Amos Danjuma, 20, Taiwo Akintola, 39, Bright Innocent, 28 and Tajudeen Shoni, 64, have been arraigned before a Tinubu Magistrates’ Court sitting in the state, for allegedly stealing the sum of N500, 000 from a tithe box in the church.
The police prosecutor, Inspector Richard Odigie, told the court that the men who were arraigned on a two-count charge of conspiracy and stealing, committed the offences on January 25, at about 4amwhen they conspired to steal the N500, 000 from the tithe box belonging to Ascension Anglican Church at Alasia bus stop, Badore Road, Eti-Osa, Lagos.
Also, two teenagers, Bello Hassan and Friday Baba, both of Dutse Baupma, in the Bwari Area Council of Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, were sentenced to six months imprisonment for stealing items worth N1.3 million from two branches of the RCCG in the area.
The sentence was handed down to the teenager by an Abuja Grade 1 Area court, presided by Justice Mohammed Marafa, after they were found guilty of conspiracy, church break and theft, offences which contravened Sections 97, 349 and 288 of the Penal Code.
The prosecuting officer, Kelechi Echendu, told the court that Pastor Damilola Daniels of RCCG House of Mercy, Dutse Alhaji, and Pastor Daramola Kayode of RCCG, God’s Heritage Parish, Dutse Baupma, had both reported earlier that the accused burgled their respective churches.
The convicts allegedly stole two medium generators, one big generator, two big 5000AV stabilizers, a bag containing women’s headgears and jewelery, curtains, two air-conditioners, two cooking stoves, one Nokia phone, loud speakers, one Samsung camera, eight new pairs of pastoral suits, 10 new shirts, wrist watches and other items valued at N1, 360, 000.
Again, a 28-year-old electrician, Charles Edward was sentenced to one month imprisonment by an Abuja Magistrate Court for stealing offering money totaling N6, 440, and other valuable items including one ‘32’ LG TV, one speaker, one decoder, one dish, and two control remotes.
Edward, according to the prosecutor, Kelechi Echendu, had broken into the church located at Dutse Makaranta, Bwari Area Council of the FCT, by damaging a slide window and stolen the items.
Reacting to the menace, Bishop of Ijebu Diocese, Rt. Revd Ayodele Awosoga, who traced the origin of stealing to the fall of man, resulting in lust of the flesh, said stealing is the product of envy and desire for what belongs to another person.
He noted that such acts mentioned above leads to robbing someone of his rights, property, position, peace and life, warning that the Eighth Commandment forbids us to rob one another of what we have, by sinful spending, or of the use and comfort of it, by sinful sparing, and to rob others by invading our neighbours’ rights, taking his goods, or house or field, forcibly or clandestinely, overreaching in bargains, not restoring what is borrowed or found, withholding just debts, rents or wages and worst of all, to rob the public in revenue or that which is dedicated to the service of religion.
Corroborating him, the Rector, Ibru International Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State, Ven. Ernest Onuoha, said the Church of Nigeria is worried by the volume of stealing, robbery, corruption, embezzlement and misappropriation of God’s resources in both Church and government, saying such must stop in order not to incur God’s wrath.
Quoting Ephesians 4:28, he said: “Let him that stole, steal no more, but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needs.”
He urged the government and other employers to be prompt in payment of workers’ salaries and pensions in order to discourage cutting corners and ensure that the wages of the citizenry are not compromised.

Those on the floor fears no fall!