The Christmas season is around the corner and criminals are devising new strategies to carry out their trade to rob unsuspecting people of their hard-earned money and property.

Some armed robbers in Benin, Edo State, disguised as Evangelists to gain access into private residences of their victims, in the guise of preaching the gospel to them.

But it was a bad day for three of such armed men, who were nabbed at Evoutubu, a settlement in the city, when they gained access into a block of four flats in the morning, dressed as men of God. They had with them cut-to-size pump action guns that they used to dispossess many tenants of their belongings.

But luck ran out on them when one of the members insisted on r@ping one of the female occupants of the flats. It was in the process that one of the occupants managed to escape and subsequently raised an alarm, which attracted neighbours, who pursued and caught the armed robbers.

According to reports, it took the intervention of policemen from the Evoutubu Police Division to stop residents from lynching the criminals as the angry crowd had wanted to set them on fire after they were beaten to a pulp.

The Edo State Police Public Relation Officer, PPRO, DSP Noble Uwoh, who confirmed the incident, urged the residents to be wary of persons they allow into their homes in whatever guise, calling on the people of the state to be vigilant and report suspicious characters to the police.© 2014Nigeriafilms.com