We had reported it earlier this week that a pastor who is the alleged masterminder of missing vehicles in a community in Abia State, was apprehended by an irate mob, and was reportedly beaten to stupor and was later detained by the Abia State Police Command.
The identity of the pastor who was said to be linked to a car robbery syndicate in the Amaekpu-Ohafia area of the state, has now been revealed as Onyenweaku Chibunnam, who is the founder of a new generation church identified as the Assembly of the Redeemed at Ohafia.
The pastor after he was captured
The self-acclaimed pastor, who was two days ago, nabbed and tied up by an angry mob including a vigilante group who reportedly caught him in the act, with several vehicle license plates and car keys were found in his possession, confessed to the crime, and was later handed over to operatives of the state Police Command.
Confirming the arrest to newsmen while parading the suspect at the Police Officers Mess in Umuahia on Wednesday, the state Commissioner of Police, Leye Oyebade, said the pastor was caught while stealing a Toyota Camry in Ebem Ohafia community of the state, adding that the suspect was arrested with an accomplice, Prince Nnabugwu, who confessed that they belonged to a car-snatching syndicate.
“They were arrested after stealing the Toyota Camry from where its owner packed it some days ago. The suspects were arrested based on a tip-off.
“They confessed to have stolen six Toyota Camry cars from Aba and sold some of them to one Maxwell in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital,” the CP added.
The prime suspect said they did not snatch the car, but stole it from where it was parked, adding that it was their 6th in the last few months, and that he usually sold the cars at N60,000 to one Maxwell who resides in Port Harcourt.
“Maxwell contacted me sometime last year to buy my car that I put up for sale, but he didn’t give me a good price for it, so, I couldn’t sell it to him. But when I stole an old model Toyota Camry last year, I called him to come and take the car I stole.
“We started having a misunderstanding when he requested the car’s original papers and I couldn’t provide them. I later told him that I stole the car. Maxwell became more interested in the business and gave me a master key with which I could steal Toyota Camry cars.
“I used the money from the crime to fund my 30-member church. I promise not to return to crime if I am set free by the police. It was the work of the devil,” the pastor said.
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