A suspected thief popularly known as “Bouncer” has been electrocuted while trying to steal a church’s electrical appliances in Aba, the commercial hub of Abia State.
Worshippers at St Luke’s Anglican Church, at Agbarevo Street, off Omuma Road, Asa-Okpuaja area of Aba told News Echo that the incident took place in the midnight of Saturday.
Sources said there have been several robbery cases on the church premises with no one ever caught to account for several missing items in the past.
They however said that the incident of Saturday night when Bouncer’s voice was heard shouting “oh Jesus” before his corpse was discovered later on Sunday morning shocked everyone in the area.
Some of the worshippers said that the deceased jumped into the church premises through the fence and was cutting the electric wire before power was restored and he was electrocuted at the spot.
“This church has recorded several stealing cases in recent times. The thieves have made a mess of the house of God with their stealing technique. We have been living at the mercy of God. Nothing is safe here. Not even the zinc.
“The church lost newly fixed zincs with value worth millions, we’ve lost too many plastic chairs and seats valued hundreds of thousands of naira.
“The last one that happened that shocked everyone was a very big goat which was used by a church member for thanksgiving and the goat which was valued 150k was tied up in the church compound and was stolen the next day.
“Can you imagine the guts? From what we discovered, the thief pulled down some blocks while jumping into the church compound to do his thing. I’m not happy about his death. I would have loved if he was alive to repent, but this should be a lesson to others out there,” a worshipper said.
Another worshipper told News Echo that the only thing he had at midnight on Saturday when the incident occurred was the voice of someone who shouted “Oh Jesus” but never knew it was the voice of the thief until he was discovered.
“When we got there this morning (Sunday), we saw him electrocuted with the wire on his hands. The loud voice of ‘oh Jesus’ from him was heard last I hear from him.
“His corpse was discovered this morning (Sunday) and had been reported at the Central Police Station, Aba. It is really a pity. People need to stop doing evil.
“The most annoying thing is that his house is just a few metres away from the church he has been stealing from. He is a very popular street boy here. Many people were suspecting him but nobody will talk because of the security situation of this place.
“Our roads are bad and when you talk too much, he and his cult gang will deal with you before police will even manage to find their way here. I’m not celebrating his death, but I think we can put an end to crime in this area if only Abia State Government can complete the construction of Omuma Road.
“The Aba Area Command Headquarters is not more than 10 minutes drive from Omuma Road can be fixed. Can you imagine that a road that’s not up to 10 minutes drive will take police more than an hour to locate here while trying to follow terrible street routes?
“Let the government help us residents of Agbarevo, Ibeagbulam, Powerline and Ama-Pope off Omuma Road. We’re suffering at the hands of these criminals.”
Abia State Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Geoffrey Ogbonna confirmed the incident and said that the deceased has been deposited in the Mortuary.
