While everyone at the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Praise Palace parish, New Oko Oba, Agege, Lagos State, were praying and praising God, Moji Aladegun, a regular worshipper, had a different idea.
It was learnt that the suspect stole two handbags of church members and was making away with them when she was caught by security guards.
When she could not provide satisfactory answers about the bags, policemen on the church premises were said to have been invited and she reportedly confessed that she stole the bags.
The church’s Closed Circuit Television cameras revealed the moments when Aladegun took the bags.
A clip of the incident, which was posted on Youtube by a member of the church, also showed when the suspect was caught.
“This is a woman caught at the Redeemed Christian Church of God; she just stole a bag. We have been looking for people like this. Anytime we are having church programmes, these are the people we have been looking for. We caught her with two bags and she could not identify the owners of the bags; she is claiming that they are her own,” the man who recorded the incident said.
The jittery suspect, while being held by a policewoman, claimed that the bags belonged to her, just as a man asked for her name.
After checking the bags, the man said they contained cash and there was no means of identification in them.
Later, another woman emerged from the church, asking if Aladegun was the woman they had been looking for.
The Head of Media and Public Relations, RCCG, Pastor Olaitan Olubiyi, confirmed the incident to our correspondent on Wednesday.
He explained that the incident happened penultimate Sunday after the service at the church in Agege.
He said, “She came to church like every other person. It was not her first time in the church; she usually comes whenever there are special programmes. Usually, people would complain that they were looking for their bags.
“On Sunday, September 10, they saw some bags with her and she claimed that they belonged to her. But by the time they called in the police and she was asked to open the bags, it was obvious she was not the owner. She later confessed that she stole them and she was taken away by the police.
“You can’t rule out such a situation wherever you have a crowd. This buttresses the advice we give to people to be security conscious. Where the children of light are gathered, the children of darkness will also be there.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, promised to react after checking up on the police station in the area. He had yet to do so as of press time.
Punch