Six personnel of a private security outfit in charge of safe-guarding lives and property of Winners Chapel Church, Rivers State Headquarters, at Kaduna Street, D-Line, Port Harcourt, have been nabbed by the police for allegedly stealing and attempting to sell church property.
It was gathered that the church security guards were intercepted by men of PHALGA Security Watch when they were conveying the heavy iron rods and other church property to a place in D-Line, where the items were being sold.
Chairman, PHALGA Security Watch, Victor Ohaji, hinted of the arrest, saying he got intelligence at about 1am, yesterday, that the security personnel of the church were conveying iron rods and other church property to unknown destinations with a truck.
Mr. Ohaji said he and his men quickly mobilised to the scene and trailed the church security personnel to where the property was about to be sold. He disclosed that the receivers of the stolen items, on sighting them, took to their heels, but they were able to arrest six of them and retrieve the stolen items.
Similarly, the vigilance group chairman disclosed that Mr. Chigbo, a man in his early 30s, was also arrested at about 3am yesterday, while he was vandalising a truck belonging to the Rivers State Waste Management Agency (RIWAMA), which was parked in front of a church at the Ikoku axis of Ikwerre road.
The driver of the RIWAMA truck, Chijioke Ani, told newsmen that he left the truck there when the diesel in the vehicle finished, and by the time he came back, the truck compartment had been vandalised.
The truck driver revealed that he was alerted by residents that Mr Chigbo, who vandalised the truck, was apprehended by the PHALGA Security Watch, and that he went to Mile 1 Police Division where the suspect was being detained.
Meanwhile, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Grace Iringe-Koko, has confirmed the arrest of the church security men. She disclosed that the six church security guards had been conniving and selling the church rods, which were for church work; but, while taking them for sale on Sunday early morning, they were arrested by the members of the local vigilance group.
The police spokesperson further stated that investigations were ongoing.
