₦airaland Forum

Devil’s apostle! Stole 18 church generators in six months , Three receivers arrested too
From AKEEB ALARAPE, Ibadan

Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Segun Kehinde’s outward appearance can be deceptive. Under his genteel posture lies a criminal soul. At age 24, he and his late friend of his, Saheed Babalola have committed what could rightly described as abomination against God and His household. The two young men specialized in robbing churches and mosques.



[img]http://odili.net/news/source/2010/feb/3/sun/Segun-03[1].gif[/img]
Segun and his accomplices with the stolen generators




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While being paraded recently, Kehinde revealed that since 2003, he and his late friend had embraced the business of breaking into churches and mosques. Their target, he told whoever cares to listen, were generators, fans and other electrical appliances in the House of God.

It was a hobby the duo was committed to until Babalola was caught in the act six months ago. His death could not serve as a lesson to Kehinde. Rather as someone bounded by a blood covenant, he carried on the baton of robbing God’s abode.

Recently, the long arm of the law caught up with Kehinde and his three accomplices, among who was a popular Ibadan-based fuji musician. They were paraded with 14 generating sets of different sizes and two giant standing fans.

Oyo State Commissioner of Police, Baba Adisa Bolanta, told newsmen that Kehinde was arrested by his men at Yemetu Division, Ibadan.

“He was arrested by our men at Yemetu Division. He specializes in breaking into churches. He knows the time when nobody will be in the church, especially by midday. He will go in there, remove the generator and other church facilities like fans and later dispose them off.

“He has stolen about 14 generators from different churches. And he has ready market for the stolen goods. These are some of the receivers. He used to sell off the generators at give away prices like N6, 000. You can see the inscriptions of some of the churches on the generators. This one belongs to Voice of Christ Universal Church, Oke-Oluwa.”

Kehinde corroborated Bolanta’s disclosure as he confirmed that he has been in the business since 2003 when he met an old schoolmate. A drop-out, he said he learnt about carpentry and furniture-making but he opted out after he fell from a roof top of a newly constructed building. He confessed to Daily Sun:

“I am 24 years old. I am from Atipe area of Ibadan. I actually trained as a furniture-maker. I fell from a building while participating in the roofing exercise. I was injured in one of my hands and decided to quit.

“I later met a former schoolmate at Holy Trinity Grammar School, Saheed Babalola, by name and jointly formed a gang. I dropped out at JSSC3.

“I can ride motorcycle while Saheed claimed that he was repairing generators. Occasionally, he would call me to help him take generators from churches. Saheed always tipped me with N2, 000 after each operation. Later, I got to know that the generators were not meant for repair as Saheed would want me to believe.

“I sat him down one day and told him about my observation. He confessed to me that he was stealing the generators. It was from there we formed alliance and started operating together.

“Later, Saheed was killed. He went to steal a generator at Amuloko area when he was caught and killed. After Saheed’s death, armed robbers also robbed me of my motorcycle at Gate Bus-Stop area. That was last year. It was then I decided to commence the operation.

“It is about six months now that I started stealing generators. I stole all the generators here. But there were some I have sold out. I don’t operate on daily basis but so far, I have stolen not less than 18 generators from churches.

“I know my accomplice through social interactions. I will just be chatting with them and in the course of our conversation, I will tell them I have somebody who wanted to dispose a generator and they will tell me to bring the generator for them to see.”

He disclosed that he was not caught in the act like his late friend but was arrested at his rented apartment by police detectives:

“I was in my house when the police came for me. They cane around 4a.m. I was still sleeping beside my new wife.

They came for me a day after our wedding introduction. I was contemplating of starting my real work and stop stealing so that my wife will not know I was into stealing when the police come for me that date.

“We have not even woken up to thank our neighbours and relatives for attending our wedding introduction the previous day when the police came for me.”

The three accomplices paraded along with him confessed to have either bought generators from him at give-away prices or facilitated the sales to other interested parties. They nonetheless denied any knowledge that the generators were stolen.

According to the musician, who was sweating like a ram at the slaughter slab during the parade, his undoing was his decision to buy a generator from the devil’s incarnate.

His words: “I knew him about two weeks ago. He told me he repaired generators. One day, we were doing carnival when our generator packed up. He then came to us and assisted us with another generator.

“In the morning, he told me that the owner of the generator wanted to dispose it and inquired whether I was interested in buying it. We negotiated and I gave him money. That was my undoing.”

The Commissioner of Police said the four culprits would be made to face the law immediately investigations into their cases were concluded.


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