Police arrest pastor for robbery

•Say his church premises were used as workshop to dismantle stolen cars

The General Overseer of Church of Peace, Ijokun, Ifo Local Government Area, Ogun State, Pastor Bolaji Balogun, aka Hossanah, has been arrested by operatives of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Adeniji Adele, Lagos, for allegedly using the premises of his church as a workshop for dismantling, repainting and renumbering stolen vehicles.

Balogun was said to have been arrested with spraying machines, tools meant for dismantling vehicles and windscreens of various sizes in his possession. But, looking unruffled during an interview with our correspondent on Tuesday, he said he merely bought a Honda Halla car that was brought to him by two robbery suspects who are now in police custody, without knowing that the car was a product of armed robbery.

He said: “In October, 2010, I bought two Honda Halla cars at the rate of N200,000 each from two robbery suspects named Dele and Kehinde for personal and commercial use. But today, both of them are in the cell.

“I met them there and they told me that they were arrested because of the cars they sold to me. I did not know that they were armed robbers or car snatchers. On that fateful day, both of them dressed like gentlemen and persuadeded me to buy the two cars for N200,000. They only gave me one Honda Halla. Up till now, they have not given me the second one.”

Asked why he had windscreens of various sizes, spraying machines and tools for dismantling vehicles in his church premises, he said he could not explain how they got there. But he insisted he was not a criminal.

The self-professed pastor, who the Police said was on the run at the time of his arrest, said he he had run away from his base in Ijokun after he was accused of raping another pastor’s wife. “I have been on the run since I had a case that is now in court,” he said. “It is about an allegation that I raped a fellow pastor’s wife who is 32 years old. I did not want them to lynch me because of the mood I found them.”

Many people in Ijokun were alleged to have considered him a fake and corrupt pastor. They were said to have marked his church for demolition after issuing him a warning to leave the community.

Balogun said: “They accused me of using juju to rape a fellow pastor’s wife, but they have not proved it and the case is still in court. I am not saying yes or no to their allegation until the road is clear because the case is in court.

“I am being detained because of the stolen cars the robbery suspects sold to me. I did not know them before they sold the stolen cars to me. I bought the cars because they were cheap. And up till now, they have not brought the second car. They only gave me one car and collected N200,000. That is the Honda Halla.”

Asked where he trained as a pastor, he said he did not train anywhere, adding that he became a pastor because he had the talent and he was called by God. He also boasted that he is better than many so-called trained pastors.

He said: “I don’t have a certificate, but I have the talent for healing and prophecy. All that is happening to me is a temptation, which is normal with true men of God. It will be well.

“When I bought the stolen vehicles, I did not know that they were stolen. I have never robbed before and I don’t intend to rob till I die.

“I built my church in 1989. I bought the land for N9,000 then. As for the building, I would not how much it cost me, because I built it in bits.”

He said he had to patronise stolen goods because he was broke and needed some money to survive. “But all the efforts I made to get even half of the money I wanted proved futile. I then decided to associate with those who would assist me. But I never went on robbery operations with the gang. I only buy stolen cars from the gang, I am not their member,” he said.

But one of the robbery suspects detained with Balogun, Bamidele Bameke (Dele), a 47-year-old indigene of Odeda community, Ogun State, insisted that Balogun was a member of the robbery gang.

Bameke said: “I was arrested for car theft with my counterpart, Kehinde. The pastor, who we call Hossanah, is our gang member. He went into hiding when the Police arrested us. We used his church compound to dismantle stolen or snatched cars, especially Honda cars. We also repainted stolen cars, renumbered them or dismantled them for sale to spare parts dealers.

“The Pastor was the one who used to look for buyers for either the dismantled parts or the complete car. He was so greedy that at times he would sell one car and tell us that the Police had seized it. At other times, he would sell a car and bring half of the proceed. At times he would like to buy a snatched car for private or commercial use.

“Whenever we were in trouble, he was the one that pleaded for our bail. Each time he secured our bail, he would lie that he used the entire proceed from a stolen car he had sold to ‘settle’ the Police. He was the one who suggested that we used his church premises for car dismantling.

“I am telling you the truth. I know the man. He is a pastor. We sold vehicles to him. I steal Honda cars. I specialise in snatching Honda cars. My role is to pilot the car and collect my commission. If not this case, what else would have joined us together? I don’t steal Mercedes Benz cars. I only steal Honda cars”.

But Pastor Balogun insisted that while it is true that the Police discovered car-spraying machines and various types of windscreens in his church premises, he was not a member of the gang. “They used my church because I ran away for security reasons. I was not the one who permitted the gang to use my church premises for dismantling cars.

“I don’t even know their gang leader, whom I heard is still at large. I am not their member. I only buy cars from them. I could not challenge them because they were always armed and dangerous. There was a time I prayed and fasted for them to stop snatching cars and robbing. I hope they will be delivered one day.”

Speaking on the arrest of the suspects, the Commissioner of Police, Mark A. Idakwo, advised the public to give reliable information that would expose criminals. He acknowledged the efforts of members of the public who had the patriotic zeal to give the Police useful information that had helped in no small measure to fight crime.