An eight-man robbery gang on Thursday attacked a branch of Ecobank located in the Mountain of Fire and Miracles Ministries’ Prayer City,MFM on the Magboro end of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway.
Punch Reports:
Our correspondent, who visited the church, learnt that the incident occurred around 1am while the church was holding a vigil.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the robbers, who came into the church through the bush, used a ladder to climb into the premises of the bank.
The robbers were said to have beaten up the security guards on duty and shot one of them.
It was learnt that after they had subdued the guards, the robbers made for one of the Automated Teller Machines and attacked it.
It was learnt that a policeman on the church premises, who heard the gunshots, informed the Ibafo Police Division.
A police source said, “Around 1.20am, we received a distress call that a gang of robbers had entered MFM Prayer City and was robbing a bank. We rushed down to the scene and when the robbers saw us, they fired at us and later fled.
“We also responded minimally because a church service was ongoing and we did not want any stray bullet to hit anyone. The robbers used a ladder to climb to the other side of the fence and escaped through the bush
“Upon inspection of the bank, we observed that a part of the ATM had been melted with fire, but the robbers had not succeeded in removing any money. We recovered two gas cylinders, an iron cutter, a sledge hammer and screw drivers.”
Police investigations further revealed that the robbers had dropped their tools at the scene prior to the robbery.
“We learnt that the robbers did not come into the church through the main gate. They had dropped their tools at a spot prior to the robbery. So, when they were coming for the robbery at midnight, they only brought their guns. The ladder they even used was got from a nearby construction site,” a police source said.
When our correspondent approached the Assembly Pastor of the church, Pastor Erhabor, for comments, he denied that there was any robbery on the premises.
“As far as I know, nothing happened. There is nothing that happened that is worth publishing,” he said.
However, the Police Public Relations Officer, Ogun State Command, Muyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the robbery to our correspondent on the telephone.
Adejobi said there was a reason to believe that the robbery was done through an insider’s collaboration.
He said, “There was a robbery at a bank at MFM Prayer City, one Inspector Austine Chukwurah led a team of policemen to the scene and foiled the robbery. One guard was shot and has been taken to the hospital.
“We have observed that ATM robberies usually occur shortly after banks load the machines with money. We have a reason to believe that the robbers acted based on a tip-off.”
