Apostle Johnson Suleman, the president of Omega Fire Ministries Worldwide, has criticised the police for executing the main suspect they had detained in connection with the vicious attack on his convoy that claimed the lives of three police officers, two drivers, and two other people.
Chidi Nwabuzor, the state police public relations officer, confirmed the incident and said that six people, including police officers and Suleman’s drivers, were slain. He also added that efforts were still being made to find the cleric’s domestic helper.
“The attack is confirmed. Three policemen were murdered; two of his (Suleman’s) drivers were killed; one domestic female worker was killed and they are still searching for another female domestic worker.
“As we speak, Apostle Johnson Suleman is safe. One of the hoodlums was gunned down and one of the vehicles was recovered,” Nwabuzor said on Friday
Online users had been sharing a 42-second video of the dead suspect’s corpse inside of a car.
A police officer can be heard referring to the deceased suspect as a kidnapper in the video tape.
“One of the kidnappers that was captured today (Friday) while the DPO, CSP Ayodele Sulaiman, led the operation along Iyewe-Auchi Road, and after a gun battle, this one (suspect) was gunned down while others escaped with gunshot wounds,” the policeman said. There is active bush trawling.
Suleman responded to the video with a tweet in which he denounced the killing of the suspect who had been given over to the police alive and claimed that it was done in an effort to hide evidence that would have pointed to those responsible for the attack.
The tweet of the cleric said, “Lies…there weren’t kidnappers… He was caught and handed over and the police killed him immediately. Why? Why killing him on the spot? Who is trying to cover up traces?”
Samuel Amune, Suleman’s attorney, also reacted by criticising the police for killing the suspect who was still alive when the youngsters and the vigilante caught him and turned him over to the police while also calling for a thorough investigation into the incident.
He stated: “As I speak with you now, I am with Apostle Suleman, and I am examining the vehicle in his compound. One of the boys was caught yesterday by vigilantes and he was handed over alive to the Auchi Police Division.
“But ironically, we don’t know what happened and the next thing we heard was that the police have shot him dead. I don’t know what the police would cook up later to be responsible for shooting him as the police station was not attacked by the youths.
“It was the youths in conjunction with the vigilante that arrested the boy and handed him over alive to the police. So, the only conspiracy theory that one can easily think of now is that was he (the policeman) acting under a superior order to have done what he has done?
“Was there any gang up or trace that they are trying to cover up? These are some of the theories God will help us unravel as time progresses. The police have not given us any official reason for shooting him dead.”
The claim that the suspect was given over to the police alive and was shot dead by a policeman, according to Nwabuzor, was made in an effort to discredit the work of the cops who responded to the attack.
He stated: “That insinuation is just an attempt to malign the DPO in charge of Auchi. That is an attempt to dent all the work that they have done. During the attack, nobody knew anybody, and the police were there to prevent any form of attack on anybody.
“The police have a job to protect life and property; it is their constitutional duty. The action of the police was impromptu, the action was going on when the police attended to the distress call and right there at the scene of the crime, everything took place.
“I never heard of any information that the suspect was handed over to the police. Let them (those who apprehended the suspect) come out and make clarification for that. That is not true, it is just hearsay; if anyone has a contrary opinion on that, let them come out and tell the world.”
