Robbers Attack Church, Cart Away Offering, Handsets

Armed robbers in Delta State on Thursday ransacked a popular Pentecostal church in Umutu community, (name withheld) Kwale area of the state, carting away the church offering and worshippers’ handsets at gun point .Sources said that the robbers had waited for hours in the midst of the worshippers till when the church had collected its offerings from members running into thousands of naira, before they struck.The robbers were said to have gone straight into the church armed with AK-47 rifles and made their way to the offering box where they discovered a huge amount of money after they had allegedly ordered members of the church to lie on the floor with their eyes closed before they escaped in a Peugeot 504 without a number plate.Police public relations officer in the state, DSP Celestina Kalu confirmed the incident adding that during the robbery, the robbers forced members of the church to submit their handsets at gun point including other valuable items.She said that the police on a tip-off, gave the robbers a hot chase but they later abandoned the Peugeot 504 and three guns including expended cartridges.She added that the police have stepped up investigations into the whereabouts of the robbers.DSP Kalu said that three suspected young men were arrested in the process adding that upon interrogation, they confessed to be pick-pockets who have been robbing unsuspecting residents of the community in the recent times.