It was a nasty experience as armed robbers raided a white garment church in Odu area of Osun State during a vigil, abducted female worshippers, took them inside the bush and sexually assaulted them in the process.
P.M.EXPRESS reports as was disclosed by the Osun State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Yemisi Opalola, at the Police headquarters in Oshogbo, Osun State.
She also revealed that suspects including an Imam, who is also farmer, Adamu Saliu and his 15-year-old son have been arrested over the alleged abduction of church worshippers during the vigil and were among the other 14 suspects paraded by the Police.
While parading the suspects, SP Opalola stated that the suspected kidnappers were apprehended including hoodlums, whose numbers could not be easily ascertained, who stormed the church and shot sporadically in order to scare the worshippers away.
She explained that the suspected kidnappers abducted some members of the church among who were females who were reportedly sexually assaulted in the process.
She stated that the Police, on receiving information, moved to the scene and comb the bushes as a result of which they apprehended three suspects including a father and son.
However, Saliu, who claimed to be a farmer and Imam in Ilesha denied any involvement in the kidnapping of the worshippers.
He stated, “I rear cattle and I have an apprentice and a son that assist me in my workshop. So it happened that there is a white garment church in my area that did vigil on that night and some hoodlums went there to disrupt their gathering and took some of their members to the bush”.
”I was not among those hoodlums that went to the church and I didn’t even know such thing happened. It was in the morning after observing my prayer that I saw some Policemen with my son and the Police said that we were involved in the crime,” he stated.
One of the female victims identified as Esther Ayodeji narrated her ordeal when the hoodlums invaded the church during the vigil at Messiah Parish, Odu, Osun State.
She explained that some of the women were sexually assaulted and molested when the hoodlums abducted and forced them into the bush.
She said that the robbers came to the church at midnight and their mission was not to steal because all their mobile phones and other personal effects were not stolen. This she stated made her believe that they came for different missions probably to sleep with some women in the church as confirmed by the Police.
The Police image maker appealed to church worshippers to be weary of attending vigils in some remote areas to prevent such ugly occurrences.
She stated that the suspects will be charged to Court for the alleged offence but that will be after the conclusion of investigations by the Police.