A prophetess identified as Jumoke Mutairu, 45, and one Uzoma Johnson, 29, have been arrested by the Lagos State police for hiding under the pretext of being officers to extort money from the public.They were arrested on June 20 at the Alakara area of the state. The police said the suspects were arrested wearing black T-shirts with police crest and logo and black berets with police insignia.
The Lagos police commissioner, Imohimi Edgal, said the police are still searching for the alleged leader of the group who is currently at large.
According to the police, the suspects revealed they had been in the business for 15 years and were trained by their alleged leader, Pastor Johnson O. Oni, the founder of Chosen Ministry Church located at 24, Association Avenue in Ijeshatedo along the Apapa-Oshodi expressway, Lagos.
When paraded before journalists on Wednesday, Mrs Mutairu said she did not claim to be a police officer but a security agent in order to create awareness for people on issues relating to crime. She added that the uniform was provided for them by Mr Oni, who employed them. Mrs Mutairu also said she had been doing the job for 15 years.
When asked about her salary, she said, “we don’t collect salary, we only get commission on the materials we sell. We sell an outline which goes for ?1,200 and my commission is ?300 on each one.” On his part, Mr Johnson said he had only worked with the group for three weeks and that they go around in their uniforms as security personnel creating security-alert and selling their “outline.”