Police arrest suspected killers of Edo ex-council boss

The Edo State Police Command said it has arrested some herdsmen suspected to have killed the immediate past chairman of Estako East Local Council of the state, Suleiman Afegbua. The former council boss was killed on the Benin-Auchi Road last week and has since been buried according to Islamic rites.

Also arrested were members of a gang that killed a business woman, Patience Ediri Omo-Osagie, after robbing her of N150,000 last week. The same gang also killed one Pastor Godwin Akpoguenabor on the same day.

Edo State Police Commissioner, Haliru Gwandu, who paraded the suspects alongside 45 others, described them as serial killers who were released from prison last month. Suspects arrested in connection with the killing of Afegbua are Mustapha Ramat, Boni Sale and Adamu Ado Bayero. Gwandu said two of their victims who were kidnapped along the Benin-Auchi highway were rescued.

Meanwhile, a Benin-based pastor, who gave his name as Abel Eku has been arrested for attempting to bomb the headquarters of his church, the Christ Chosen Church of God.The pastor, who claimed to have served the church for 25 years, planted explosives inside the auditorium of the church headquarters on January 22, the day the church was to hold an international conference. The explosives were detected and policemen were invited to detonate the explosives.

Men of the Edo State Police Command arrested Pastor Abel on March 7 and he confessed to have manufactured the explosives and planted them himself.Speaking to newsmen during a parade at the police headquarters, Pastor Abel said he planted the bomb because he was bitter about his dismissal from the church over marital issues. He said he did it out of annoyance but later regretted his action, which made him to call the church officials and informed about the location of the bomb.

According to him, “it was out of annoyance that I planted the bomb. I was dismissed from the church after serving for 25 years. After planting the bomb, I was not happy with myself. I had a change of heart and called the people to talk about it. It was to scare people. I had to call people to check and diffuse it.

“I am 57 years old. I had marital issues with my wife. We came to the church to resolve it and it was not resolved. It led to my dismissal. I was very bitter about the dismissal. I didn’t have the intention of killing people. My action was very bad.”On how he was made a pastor in the church, he said his parents offered him to the church as a first fruit because of inability to have children.