° Pastor, 9 others arrested
The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a Femal pastor in-charge of Truth and Spirit Prophetic Church, and nine church members for allegedly stoning an Oro traditional worshiper to death in Lagos.
The Church, Truth and Spirit Prophetic Church at Sanni Taiwo Lawal Street , Pooposhola area of Oko-Oba, was having its’ monthly vigil and prophetic hour, when the Oro traditional worshiper were also having their vigil.
According to a witness, Wale ,” while we were having our vigil, the Oro traditional worshiper came into our Church and ordered us to stop worship, but our pastor was trying to explain to them that we were inside the church and not outside the premises. It was when they started beating us that some of us ran away,àwhile the courageous ones and those who were not able to run, resisted the Oro worshipers . It was later that we heard that one of them died. But what is the offence we committed for doing our thing inside the church?”.
A senior police office from Oko-Oba police station, who spoke on the condition of anonymity as he was not supposed to speak with the press, said,” While we were in the Station, at about 6.30 am, we got a report that a Church was about to be set ablaze by Oro traditional worshipers, so we raced to the church. We discovered that there was a serious fight between Oro traditional worshipers and the church members. We were told that while the church was having its’ vigil the Oro worshipers were also having their sacrament. The Oro worshipers who felt that the church should not be robbing shoulders with them, ordered the church to stop their programme, the church refused,so there was fight between the two worshipers.
” During the fight, a traditional worshiper, Akeem Agboola,25, was stoned to death by the Church members. We arrested the Pastor of the church, Mercy Okocha,50,and nine other church members, while the body of the Oro worshiper, was evacuated and deposited at a public morgue for autopsy”.
Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer! PPRO), SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the story, saying that 10 persons, including the pastor of the church have been arrested,while Investigation was ongoing.
