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. (If you
missed it, read it here). Well, the boy's mother
has spoken out and says her 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 branch 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 a 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 killer'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 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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