No fewer than 205 chairs, musical instruments and other equipment worth millions of naira were reported stolen by hoodlums in Katsina State on the first day of the ongoing nationwide planned peaceful protest against hardship.
The thieves broke into a Living Faith Church located in the Daura Local Government Area of the state, taking millions of naira’s worth of valuables, including 205 chairs and musical instruments.
The church’s pastor, David Jato, informed the Punch in Katsina on Sunday that the incident prevented the church service from taking place.
He said, “Because the hoodlums took everything inside the church on the first day of the protest, they decided to worship at their various home cells.
“We have two security personnel 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), broke the door and windows and entered the church auditorium.
“They took everything inside the church auditorium, including the wall digital clock, musical instruments, pulpit, pastor’s chairs, plastic chairs, a desktop computer at the reception, and a scoreboard where the accountant usually kept church documents. They scattered everything.
“Three churches were their target. They succeeded in invading the Living Faith Church and Deeper Life, but couldn’t gain access to the third one, which is the Anglican Church, because of the strong protection at the gate.”
He added, “We have informed the police and the army about it, and the police told us yesterday that they have made some arrests.
“I am surprised by this attack. When we are thinking about ending bad governance protests, which have 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 that they are serving humanity, and God will judge us all, whether political or religious leaders.
“My prayer for the perpetrators is that they should repent from what they are doing because for you to enter a 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.”
Similarly, Nelson Onyekachuku, the pastor of Power of Resurrection in Katsina State, bemoaned the vandalism of the church windows, pointing out that the iron guards at the church gate prevented the thugs from entering the building. During the protest in Katsina town, the thugs also broke into Nelson Onyekachuku’s church.
Former state chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Katsina, Onyekachuku, strongly denounced the action, emphasizing that they shouldn’t exacerbate the suffering of the church.
He urged the government to alter its course, deal with public concerns, and always guarantee the church’s safety in the event of such an occurrence.
