A man, about 28 years of age, suspected that has no known link with agents of the Boko Haram Islamic Sect who simply gave his name as Efe Eghwugbarodo is now in police net.
Newsmen gathered that he was picked up by the Ughelli Police Division “A” for attempting to set ablaze a Church cathedral belonging to the “Divine Fire Evangelical Mission”, in Ughelli, Delta State.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, August 1, at the church premises in Ughelli.
According to an eye witness account, the suspect gained entrance into the church auditorium through the main door at about 5.30am pretending to be a church worker only to empty a twenty (20) litre of jerry can filled with fuel on the altar of God, musical equipment, altar cloths, rugs, plastic white chairs in the church and other sensitive parts of the church building ready to set the entire church building on fire.
He started shouting, “where are them, where are them, who wants to die let him come” which attracted the attention of some women who were on their way to sweep the church premises.
The eyewitness further said that the suspect brought out a box of matches and scratched a stick of the matches on the matches box to ignite fire but the match did not respond he did the same for four times but all to no avail as it appeared he was arrested by the Holy Spirit who made him to stood still gazing at the altar until the four women sweeping the church met him.
They raised alarm after which they gripped him then the suspect regained himself and started fighting the women with blows and hauling the church chairs at them but the women held him tight till help came from the Ughelli Vigilante group chairman, Mr. Monday Ohwesiri who mobilized his members and arrested him, then invited the police to come and pick him up.
The attempted arson, before he was taken away by the police, claimed that he is a native of Orere in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State.
He admitted that he was in the church to burn down the church building but denied that he was an agent of of Boko Haram, alleging that the founder and spiritual head of the church refused to allow members join him in giving his mother a befitting burial who was a native doctor, and an Igbeh (Idol)
He said, he easily gained entrance into the church because, “I was a member of the church and those who saw me going into the church thought I was coming in for personal early morning devotion”.
