Temitope Kolawole, a former armed robber who has repented and is now an evangelist, tells TEMITOPE ADETUNJI how he descended into a life of crime at a young age, spent over 25 years in prisons for targeting churches during his criminal years, before finding redemption in 2021
Can you introduce yourself?
My name is Kolawole Temitope. I am originally from Ekiti State, but I was born and raised in Ondo State. I currently live in Ikorodu, Lagos State. I am an evangelist.
Which ministry or denomination are you affiliated with?
I attend a church known as the Royal Church Ministry. However, I am not holding any position there. I am not a worker or a leader in the church. I am just an ordinary member. I go to church like every other member, but I preach the gospel independently. I also go to prisons to preach. Evangelism is something I do personally. I go out on my own to preach the gospel.
In a viral TikTok video, you claimed that you robbed over 1,000 houses and churches in Lagos. Can you clarify exactly what you meant by that statement?
What I said was that, truly, I robbed many churches, both within Nigeria and in neighbouring countries. I focused mostly on Redeemed Christian Church of God churches. The reason is simple: they usually had what we needed. They had money in their churches, good musical instruments and equipment.
It was not because the Redeemed Christian Church of God offended me personally or did anything against me. No, it was simply because they had what it took.
Anywhere I went, the first thing I would tell the bike man was, ‘Take me to the RCCG headquarters.’ Once the bike man took me there, I would take my time to study the environment, the surroundings and the partitions in the church.
How did you usually carry out your operations?
When I was active, I robbed both churches and individuals. We usually operated in groups — sometimes four people, sometimes five, sometimes three. It was a gang, and I was the gang leader.
Whenever we were about to go for an operation, I would insist that we pray. I would tell them we needed to pray. Some of them relied on charms, but I did not. I personally did not use charms. I only prayed.
The reason is this: when I was young, my parents took me to many places for solutions, charms and other things. But all those things failed my parents.
I started stealing at the age of seven. From Primary 5 and 6, my parents took me to different places looking for solutions, but nothing worked. There was no solution. So, when I later started robbing, I decided I would not go to anybody for charms. I would only pray before any operation.
How long were you involved in robbery?
I started from childhood.
When were you first arrested?
I was caught in 1986.
How old were you at the time?
I was about 17 years old. I was born in 1969.
That was your first time in prison?
Yes. I was sentenced to three months in prison. The case reached my father. Normally, when someone is arrested, they ask for your address and your parents’ details. They contacted my father. My father was actually happy because he had been looking for such an opportunity to control me.
They later took me to another court in Yaba, where I was arraigned. I was sentenced to three years. I was taken to Kaduna Borstal Training Institution, also known as Kakuri Borstal. I also spent time in the Abeokuta juvenile prison. Altogether, I spent three years there and was released in 1990.
What was your experience like in that juvenile prison?
I suffered a lot. Kakuri was meant for juvenile inmates, underage offenders. But to my greatest surprise, I met people old enough to be my uncles there. Some of them were rich or well-known people.
When their children committed offences, they did not want them to go to the main prison. They used money to lock them up in the borstal. Some of those people stayed there for four or five years. These were the same people training us.
Before going to prison, I had never used guns. I was only breaking into places using tools, what people now call burglary. It was in prison that I learnt how to use guns. So, when I came out in 1990, I came out as a full-time armed robber.
What happened after your release in 1990?
I was released on December 14, 1990. I travelled to Akoko to meet my father, but I stole his pharmaceutical goods.
What does your father do?
He was into pharmaceutical business. After I stole from him, he took me to prison again. I spent over a year there.
How many years did you spend in prison altogether?
Altogether, I went to prison 12 times. In total, I spent about 25 years and seven months in prison. Yet, I never truly repented in prison.
Why do you think repentance is difficult in prison?
Prison is not an easy place to change. You are under authority. You need permission for everything. If you want to move, you need permission. If you want to use the toilet, you need permission. If they do not permit you and you go ahead, you will be punished.
There are more than 66 laws and bylaws guiding prisoners. Because of this, the character you show in prison is not really your character. You are forced to submit. When you come outside, that is when your true self shows.
There was a day I came out of prison and returned to crime the same day. I was caught again and sent back. Prison is not truly a correctional centre. It is a place where you learn more bad things. In every prison I went to, I learnt bad things I did not know before.
What is life like inside Nigerian prisons?
One surprising thing is that prisoners praise God a lot in prison. But real change is rare. The system is very unfair. The rich inmates enjoy comfort. They have private rooms. They are not locked in cells. Some even have bodyguards.
The poor inmates, including innocent people, are crowded together — 13 to 15 people in one cell. They suffer the most. Many of them die there because they cannot afford bribes.
Was your final arrest in 2021?
Yes. In 2021, I went to steal some tools from a communal church in Moba. That time, I was caught at the scene. I was taken to Kaba Prison in Kogi State, located around the Oke-Ibukun area. I spent six months there. After I was released, I still went back to robbing.
What finally made you stop?
One day, while preparing for another operation, I saw a piece of paper on the ground. It was titled, ‘One Day’. As I read it, it felt as if the person who wrote it was watching my life — what I had done and what I was about to do. While reading, I began to cry like a baby. I forgot about the operation completely.
Did you contact the person who wrote it?
Yes. A phone number was written on it. I called the person and told him my life story. He prayed with me and encouraged me to follow God and stop stealing. That was on September 6, 2021. From that day till now, I have not stolen anything.
Was that what made you become an evangelist?
Yes. It was after leaving the prison for the last time that I was born again. From my childhood, people said a prophet once declared that I would do the work of God. But I did not care about that at all.
Even now, I honestly do not know how I started preaching the gospel. I do not know how it began. When I got converted and stopped stealing completely, I picked up the Bible and started preaching the gospel of Christ. I gave my life to Christ in 2021.
How sure are you that you have completely left crime?
I challenge anyone. If there is anyone who can say that since September 6, 2021, I have stolen, been arrested, charged, accused or even alleged to have stolen anything, they should come forward. If I were still stealing, I would not come out publicly to tell my story.
What about your family life? Are you married?
I was married, but my wife left me while I was in prison.
Do you have children?
I have a son. He is nine years old.
Who takes care of him now?
His mother left when he was about one and a half years old. Initially, my mother helped to take care of him. Now, I take care of him myself.
How do you survive now and take care of your child?
It has not been easy. I wash clothes for people and fetch water. In 2015, my right hand was damaged. I had an internal injury on my fingers, like it was broken, so I cannot do hard labour. I stopped schooling at Form 10, equivalent to JSS 3. Sometimes, I get security jobs, but once they find out I am an ex-convict, they send me away. In Nigeria, nobody wants to employ an ex-convict.
Can you tell me about the challenges you faced after your release?
I was very confused. And you know, we were advised not to burden people who are not our family. So, I faced everything alone. There was nobody to rely on. I went for labour work in many places, but because of my hand, I could not carry heavy things. Each time, they sent me away. It has been very difficult for me and my son.
At one point, my son was taken to an orphanage. He stayed there for almost three years because we had no accommodation and nowhere to stay. He was only released back to me by the court on October 29 last year. I suffered a lot during the time they took my son away. He is my only son. You can imagine, at my age, going through that because of one child.
You mentioned earlier that many of your former associates did not survive. Can you explain that?
It is purely the grace and mercy of God. Many of my colleagues died in prison. Some were killed. Others died at crime scenes. When I counted the people we went out for operations together, we were 43. Today, I am the only one left. I am the only one remaining.
That is why I know it is the mercy of God that spoke for me. One thing I always tell people is this: whatever you are doing in life, always remember mercy. Even when I was involved in those things, I never killed anyone in my life. I never shot anyone. I did not need that.
I could scare people with a gun, yes, but I never killed. I always said it clearly. Some of the boys who followed me loved wasting people’s lives. I did not welcome that. Because of that, many of them stopped following me.
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