Policemen
attached to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Imo State Police
Command have arrested the founder of Jesus The Rock of Salvation Healing
Ministry, Uratta, in the Owerri North Local Government Area of the state,
Pastor Chiedozie Anochima, in connection with the February 22, 2017, robbery in
a bank.
The
attack on the Wetheral Road branch of Zenith Bank in Owerri, the state capital,
left two policemen dead, with another injured, while one of the armed robbers
was gunned down during the operation.
The
police, who had since rounded up the fleeing members of the gang, said the
arrest of the cleric during a church service last Sunday was a major
breakthrough in the investigation of the crime.
A
police source said on Wednesday that the arrest of the last member of the gang,
Chinonso Onwugbuchlam, one year after the incident, helped the police to arrest
the pastor.
The
source disclosed that it was in the course of interrogation that Onwugbuchlam,
who was arrested by F-SARS operatives in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, mentioned
the pastor’s name
He
said, “Onwugbuchulam named one Pastor Chiedozie Anochima as one of them. The
pastor is 36 years old and he is the founder of Jesus The Rock of Salvation
Healing Ministry, a church in Urratta, in the Owerri North LGA.”
The
source told PUNCH Metro that Onwugbuchulam confessed that the pastor
kept the gang’s rifles after operations and prayed for them for protection.
“Onwuegbuchulam
led the F-SARS operatives to his church where we arrested him during a church
service. The pastor was surprised to see us. We swooped on him and arrested him
immediately. That was last Sunday,”the source said.
The
state Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike, said the arrest of the cleric was a
big breakthrough for the command.
He said, “Yes, it is true. We have arrested the
pastor and he is with us. You know that criminal investigation is like
kerosene; it spreads. The more you investigate a crime, the more it spreads.
“We
are working harder to make sure that all those involved in the bank robbery at
Zenith Bank in 2017, do not escape justice. We will parade the pastor before
newsmen very soon.”
Our
correspondent gathered that the arrest of the pastor, which caused a stir
during the church service, made members of his church to flee.
Post A Comment: