2 days ago you read that controversial Lagos
pastor Sign Fireman had been arrested by Lagos
police over
the alleged ritual murder of a 12 year
old girl, Bose Ogoja, after the girl's killer, 18 year
old Ikechukwu claimed he killed her following
instructions from Pastor Sign Fireman. Well, the boy's mother has
spoken out and says his son has never met the
founder and Head Pastor of Perfect Christian
Mission.
Mrs Esther Egbo told reporters yesterday that they
were members of the Badagry brand of Fireman's
church and in the two years they've been in the
church, they have never set eyes on the man. She
said her son had been arrested four different
times by the police for attempted rape and had
even been charged to court and was only released
on December 10, 2013. Continue...
Mrs Egbo said:
"My son has been under as spell since 2009
when he was cursed by one of my
neighbours in Badagry. Sometimes, he
suddenly sees young girls, grabs them and
starts trying to molest them. He only
behaves like that in the afternoon and the
whole neighborhood knows. In 2011, he was
arrested after touching a 15-year-old girl
inappropriately. Later, he was arrested for
attempting to rape a 17-year-old girl. Most
times, it is residents that call to tell me that
my son has been detained at the Badagry
Police Station when I am looking for him.
“In November, he did it again and was
arraigned before a Badagry Magistrates
Court for attempted rape and remanded in
Badagry Prison for 19 days. He was released
on December 10 after he was acquitted. It
was three weeks later that he killed the little
girl.
I asked him what happened that day and he
said he was eating at one woman's shop and
saw the woman's daughter pass. He stood
up and followed the girl and dragged her into
an uncompleted building where he killed her.
He was caught as he attempted to run. He
said something came over him.
“We even started a deliverance programme
for him at the church and he never even met
Pastor Fireman. After his interview with
journalists, I asked my son why he lied
against the pastor and he said it was
because he was threatened .”
The victim’s mother said although they attended
Fireman’s church, they never met with him
because as the General Overseer of the church, it
was not always easy for members to see him at
random.
She said her son did not even have Fireman’s
telephone number and wondered where the
supposed meeting he had with her son took place.
An aide to the pastor described the allegations
against Fireman as ridiculous, adding that Fireman
could not have stooped so low as to encourage a
teenager to commit murder.
“I have spoken to the boy (Ikechukwu) and
he told me that he was coerced into saying
what he said to the press. Pastor Fireman is
a very rich man. What sort of money ritual
would he want to do? His father owns a gold
factory in Russia while his mother is a
professor at ABSU. This is a man that has
distinguished himself.
Ikechukwu killed Bose in the Badagry area of
Lagos State. When he was paraded before
journalists at the State Criminal Investigation
Department, Yaba, he said he killed the girl in an
uncompleted building following instructions from
pastor Sign Fireman.
Ikechukwu said,
“I attend Perfect Christian Mission
Headquarters around Ketu Street, Aguda, but
I live with my parents in Badagry. I just
finished secondary school and I have been
very broke. So, I approached the pastor, Sign
Fireman, for money, but he told me that I
should strangulate a little girl. He explained
that while strangulating the girl, she would
pass out faeces in the throes of death. The
pastor said I should obtain the faeces and
bring it to him. He said if I could do this, he
would give me N100, 000.”
The suspect’s mother says the boy later
confessed to her that nothing of such happened
and that the 12 year old only passed feces due to
the rape and strangulation. She said the incident
had nothing to do with ritual but a clear case of
rape that led to murder.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that many church
members had elected to give the pastor free legal
service.
Fireman’s lawyer, Peter Oboyi, said the police had
no evidence against the pastor adding that his
client’s home had even been searched on
Wednesday and no evidence was found.
He said,
“Pastor Fireman has over 100,000 members
worldwide and does not even know one
tenth of them let alone a small boy in the
Badagry branch of the church. The boy has
even confessed to the police that it wasn’t
the pastor that sent him to the dastardly act.
The allegations are frivolous and based on
hearsay. If you want to send someone to kill
another person, you will send someone that
you trust, someone that wouldn’t give your
name up easily. How could pastor have done
such?”
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