Posted by By DIPO KEHINDE, CHRISTOPHER ORJI and JULIANA FRANCIS on
Barely one week after a priest was shot dead at the St. Dominic Catholic Church in Lagos, another catholic church in the heart of the state has had a similar evil encounter.
Barely one week after a priest was shot dead at the St. Dominic Catholic Church in Lagos, another catholic church in the heart of the state has had a similar evil encounter.
The place, this time, was St. Leo's Catholic Church on Toyin Street, Ikeja. And the victim was identified as a security man, Jonathan Owolabi, who was shot dead by the satanic bandits that stormed the House of God Wednesday, at about 3a.m.
The incident fell on a day that had been set aside by the Catholics in Lagos for the memorial mass and wake keep of Rev. Godwin Okwesili, who was shot dead on August 2, when three gunmen visited St. Dominic Church, Yaba. The priest's body would arrive Ibadan, the Oyo State capital Thursday after a funeral mass.
Briefing reporters on the fresh attack, police spokesman, Mr Bode Ojajuni said there was a report at the Area ‘F' command headquarters, Ikeja, that robbers were operating at sister's convent of Saint Leo's Catholic Church.
He said: "In a swift response, a team of Anti-Robbery Policemen from the station raced to the scene and met one Jonathan Owolabi, a security man shot dead while three other security men were tied by the robbers.
"On sighting the police, the hoodlums took to their heels and were given a hot chase. During exchange of fire, one of the robbers identified as Kelechi Uzounwu was arrested with bullet wounds. The suspect gave his address as Ikeja Military Cantonment."
According to Ojajuni, two wrist watches snatched from catholic sisters, two cutlasses, two iron rods and other house breaking implements were recovered from the scene.
"The corpse of the deceased has been removed to the public mortuary for autopsy," Ojajuni said, adding that the arrested suspect had made useful statements that could help the police track down other members of the gang.
An insider at the church told Daily Sun that eight bandits came in through the back of St. Leo's Primary School, which is behind Sister of the Eucharist Heart of Jesus convent and tied the four guards.
Contrary to police account that the dead guard was shot, the church member said the man who was in his 60s was strangulated.
"One of the sisters, who saw the evil men in action called the Revd Father, who then called the police," he said, adding that "whenever it's the catholic harvest period, robbers always came to trouble the churches."