SSS Boss Urges Churches To Verify Testimonies

The State Security
Services (SSS) has urged churches to subject bogus testimonies aimed at extorting money from the public to security checks.
The Director of the service in Enugu State, Mr Victor Duru, made the call while addressing newsmen on a suspect who was alleged to specialise in extorting money from churches.
According to him, churches should be wary of people going about sharing bogus testimonies, especially if the intention is to seek help or curry favour or attract sympathy.
“I want the churches to be cautious of bogus testimonies, especially from strange quarters or subject such claims to security checks,’’ he said.
Duru said the suspect, who hailed from Kura Falls, Barkin Ladi Local Council of Plateau State, was arrested on August 20 for allegedly swindling innocent Nigerians under the guise of religion.
He said that the suspect, who claimed to be a renounced Boko Haram member, but had converted to being a Christian, had been visiting churches for help.
The director said that the suspect had several names, and was arrested at the Mountain of Fire Church, Uwani, where he announced that he was a former Boko Haram member.
Duru said that the suspect had visited four churches in Ibadan and two in Anambra before luck ran against him in Enugu State.
He added that the service would not allow anybody or group to disrupt the current relative peace in Enugu, adding that Enugu was one of the most peaceful states in the country.
The representative of the Anglican Church, Venerable Jonathan Agbo, appealed to the media to assist the church and security agencies in fishing out suspects in the society.
When asked questions by journalists, the suspect said he was a missionary attached to the Christ Apostolic Church in Adamawa State.
He said that he lied about his connection with the Boko Haram when he was stranded in Enugu after a church programme, and pleaded for forgiveness from the service.