Church leader arrested for attempting to sell stolen car

A church leader in Ikorodu area of Lagos State has insisted that he received a direction from God before agreeing to sell a stolen car, which was snatched at gun point from a bank manager.

Intelligence officers who posed as prospective buyers nabbed him while trying to sell it on the platform of an unnamed auto online.

The 30-year-old suspect, Olawale (surname withheld) used to be the administrative officer in charge of a church in Igbogbo area of Ikorodu.

The church leader stated that he contacted the pastor in charge of his church, twice and that he got the go-ahead to help sell the stolen vehicle.

Lagos Metro gathered that the suspect was arrested at a church, where he had run to, when it was clear to him that the vehicle, which he put up for sale, was stolen.

The church leader said “the vehicle was given to me to sell by Abbey. I met him at an hotel in Ikorodu. I went there to drink and he came to my table and bought drinks for everybody and that was how I liked him.

“When I told him I was going home, he gave me N2, 000. Those were moments I was struggling and I had no job. I saw Abbey later that week to explain how he could help me get some money because I had no job. This was the time he asked me if I could help his sister, who was travelling overseas to sell her car and I told him that I would try.”

He claimed that “I consulted my pastor twice on the issue of helping him sell a car. The pastor told me to go ahead and collect the car from him and sell it. I took the car from Abbey and began to market it but after about three weeks, I couldn’t get a buyer, then he took the car from me. Some weeks later, I stumbled on him with the car and he challenged me that I didn’t want to help his sister sell her car.

“After a while, we agreed that I would help him to look for buyer. I consulted my Pastor again for him to pray about it. This time, the pastor introduced me to somebody in Lekki who has a car park at a very conspicuous place, where we could put the car for sale. It was there the car was until I learnt that the car was stolen at gun-point.

“Since I have been arrested, I have been calling Abbey to come and explain to the police that he gave me the car to sell, but most of the time, he avoided my calls, at times, he switched off his phone. Presently, he’s no longer picking any call on that line.”

Operatives of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) had pretended as buyers of the stolen vehicle, which was advertised on an unnamed online platform, when they arrested the suspect.

The image maker in charge of the state police command, Dolapo Badmos confirmed the arrest of the church leader to Lagos Metro and added that efforts were on to arrest other members of his gang.

She also said that the suspect and the vehicle had been transferred to the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS) of the state police command for further investigation.