No fewer than 205 church chairs, musical instruments and other equipment worth millions of naira were said to have been stolen by hoodlums in Katsina State on the first day of the ongoing nationwide protest against hardship, PUNCH Metro gathered on Sunday.
Our correspondent learnt that the hoodlums invaded a Living Faith Church in the Daura Local Government Area of the state, looting 205 chairs, musical instruments, and other valuable items worth millions of naira.
The Pastor in charge of the church, David Jato, told our correspondent on Sunday that the Church service could not be held due to the action, “because the hoodlums went away with everything inside the church on the first day of the protest and they decided to worship at their various home cells.
“We have two security guards working in the church, one was on duty while the other was off. When the protest began around 10:00 am, the hoodlums just diverted to the church, many of them in Keke Napep (tricycle), and broke the door and classes and penetrated the church auditorium.
“They packed everything inside the church auditorium, including the digital wall clock, musical instruments, pupil, pastor’s chairs, plastic chairs, and a desktop computer at the reception, as well as a scoreboard where the accountant usually kept the church documents. They scattered everything.
“Three churches were their target while they succeeded in invading the Living Faith Church and Deeper Life, but gained access to the third one which is the Anglican church because of the strong protection at the gate.”
The pastor said the church had informed the police and the Army about it, and the police told them they would come on Saturday and that they had made some arrests.
“I’m surprised by this attack when we are thinking about ending the bad governance protests, which now escalated to the invasion of churches. It is something that everyone should seriously condemn. It is not food that we store in the House of God. It is a place of worship. Why is it only a church? The government should come to the reality they are serving humanity, and God will judge us all, whether political or religious leaders.
“My prayer to the perpetrators is that they should repent from what they are doing because for you to enter the church, a place of worship, is wrong and you know you are not fighting man. They should seek repentance. I know God is forgiving and He will forgive them”, Pastor Jato explained further.
Similarly, the Pastor in charge of Power of Resurrection in the area, Very Reverend Nelson Onyekachuku, whose church was also invaded by the hoodlums, lamented the vandalisation of the church windows as the hoodlums could not gain access to the building due to its iron protectors.
Onyekachuku, who is also the former state Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria, however, condemned the action, adding that the hoodlums should not add pain to the church.
He called on the government to change its policies, address the issues of the people and always protect the church whenever such an incident happens.
There was no reaction from the state Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Sadiq Abubakar, as he could not respond to the messages PUNCH Metro sent to his cell phone as of the time of filing the report.
However, our correspondent observed that there was heavy security presence in churches across the state on Sunday.
