…Over 7 Vehicles Vandalized, Batteries, Cash, Carted Away During Sunday Mass At Catholic Church In Ughelli
By Godwin-Maria Utuedoye
A new and subtle wave of crime aimed at vandalizing cars parked at Church premises, banks and other public business and private places is gradually picking up in Ughelli, headquarters of Ughelli North Local Government Area, Delta State.File photo of car vandals
Recently, car battery theft at various places within and around Ughelli town increases.
In August, close to a new microfinance bank in Ughelli, vehicle belonging to a staff of the bank and customers parked outside the bank were vandalized and their batteries stolen in a broad day light.
Also, recently, a police officer car parked at the Onoharigho area of Otovwodo town was also vandalized and the battery stolen.
This new trend also targets busy spots such as schools and churches were unsuspecting victims must have gone to drop their kids and wards at school or transact one business or the other, but only to come back to discover that their vehicles though still intact as they left it, but only come to reality with surprises that their batteries has been stolen.
A parent who lamented to our reporter said; ” It was so surprising to me that I only came to the Eucharistic School here in Ekuigbo to drop my kids, but before I returned, my battery was stolen even when the car was still locked. It is surprising and annoying because it was in day time.”
On Sunday, while the Holy Mass was on at the Assumption Catholic Church Ekuigbo, the criminal broke into cars parked and carted away over seven car batteries and cash.
In WhatsApp message sent by the parish priest of Assumption Catholic Church Ekiugbo to other parishes in and around Ughelli town and sighted by this medium read;
“Good morning dear Frs! Last Sunday, while we were celebrating Mass, some criminals came to the primary school which we use for parking lots and broke into a number of vehicles, carting away at least 7 car batteries and some cash. I understand that same thing happened at Eucharistic school only the Saturday before. Please let’s beef up our security apparatus! God help us.
With this new trend of crime surfacing gradually, car owners are now at risk as no were is safe to park their vehicles any longer without security. The ugly incidents is becoming a mystery as the criminals most a time do not break the car keys nor break the windscreen, but are still able to steal the battery and locking back the car to make the owners suspect whether something has happened.
They are calling on the multiple security agencies in the town and the Ughelli North Local Government Chairman to beef up their securities and intelligence in order to curb the new wave of crime trending fast.
With these, car owners are advised to resort to parking their vehicles in a more secure locations or installing security and alarms in their cars to deter potential vandals, while owners of public business places should also support by organizing neighbourhood watch groups to keep an eye out for suspicious activities.
The local government authorities also need to take action and increase security patrols and vigilance in areas where these incidents have occurred, as residents are hoping that with increased security measures, further car vandalism can be prevented and vehicles protected from being vandalized.
