EFCC And Police Burst Lagos Church, Arrest Prophet Who Scams Members

EFCC officials and police officers have stormed a church in Lagos, arresting the pastor who scams his own members.

A report by Vanguard has shown that there was serious pandemonium in Shoba community, Abule-Ado, Lagos, weekend, as security agents stormed a Pentecostal church, Power of the Holy Ghost Evangelical Ministry a.k.a Tuesday Tuesday Church, to arrest the pastor of the church.

The pastor, Prophet Cletus Chukwunweuba Ilongwo, was arrested over allegations of scam made against him by some members of his church and the community.

The security agents, numbering about 100, made up of officials of Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, and policemen from the area, burst into the church in the early hours of the day after all efforts to invite the pastor of the church, who is standing trial in court, to report to EFCC failed.

It was gathered that Prophet Ilongwo was initially arrested early this year by the Police and EFCC after a former member of the church reported that he defrauded him of N85 million, which led to the loss of his job in one of the first generation banks in the country.

Vanguard reports that after he was invited for interrogation, he jumped bail and efforts made to re-arrest him failed until his surety was arrested last week. He reportedly abandoned his surety to languish in EFCC detention, prompting a joint operation by EFCC and the Police to arrest him.

During the operation, which lasted for hours, it was learned that members of his church confronted security agents with dangerous weapons, leading to the use of force to arrest him inside one of the rooms in the church.

Eyewitnesses said members of the community, who had been complaining over the activities of the prophet and members of his church, went wild in jubilation, extolling the security agents for making them heave a sigh of relief.

The community members alleged that hoodlums and bodyguards attached to the prophet had subjected them to intimidation, harassment and public assault and all efforts they made to call the attention of the Police to their activities failed.

Meanwhile, it was learned that the suspect, Prophet Ilongwo, was taken to EFCC office at Ikoyi, where he was detained and taken to Ikeja High Court today to answer charges against him by the former banker.