Tension Heightens In Imo As Police Recover Bombs From Winners Chapel

… relocates church to Heroes Square


There is palpable tension in Owerri, the Imo state capital following the
discovery and defusing of  three Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) around
the expansive Winners Chapel state headquarters along PortHarcourt road,
Owerri.

Our reporter who visited the Church Sunday morning saw officials of the
church re-directing worshippers to the Heroes Square at the
junction leading to the church.

Closer to the church, the Police Bomb Disposable Unit barricaded the church on both ends with police trucks blocking off access to the church from the two
approach routes.

When 247ureports.com met the Senior Pastor of the church, Pastor
Moses Oyedele for comments, he declined saying he was indisposed to comment on the matter.

 The state Police Public Relations
Officer, Andrew Enwerem who confirmed the development, told 247ureports.com that the police had taken charge of the situation.

Speaking to newsmen at the scene of the recovery, the state Commissioner of
Police, Mr. Abdulmajid Ali informed that six persons were presently in
police custody undergoing interrogation over the incident.
He urged residents and churches to be a lot more vigilant as they go about
their daily activities and to report any suspicious object or parcel to the
nearest security agency.

While some church members said none of the bombs detonated, others insist
that a loud bang was heard from around the church in the wee hours of the
morning.

One of the church members who craved anonymity told our reporter that a
staff of the hotel opposite the church maintains that he heard aloud bang
in the small hours of the morning that shook buildings in the neighbourhood.

At the time of filing this report, the Police bomb disposal squad was still
sweeping through the massive church premises for bombs.

The church has a sitting capacity in the neighbourhood of 10,000 and houses
a nursery and primary school.

Meanwhile, when our reporyer got to the Heroes Square, security was on red
alert as several Policemen were sighted around the gate to the emergency
worship ground. Men were thoroughly searched while women were made to show
the content of the bags. Metal detectors and bomb detectors were fully
deployed while the crowd of worshippers sang “The church is marching on and
the gates of hell shall not prevail.”