On Thursday, the police reported that they had apprehended a suspect in connection with the October 21, 2022 attack on the convoy of Apostle Johnson Suleiman, the General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries, on the Benin-Auchi road. CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi, the Force Public Relations Officer, made this announcement at a media briefing in Abuja.
Adejobi stated that the suspect was a part of the seven-man gang responsible for the attack on the convoy, which resulted in the death of six people, including three police officers. He added that the suspect was apprehended after a thorough investigation into the fatal attack, and will be charged with conspiracy, attempted murder, and murder.
The police spokesman also reported that five AK47 rifles, two K2 assault rifles, 180 live rounds of ammunition, and four suspected IEDs were found in the suspect’s apartment. He said that some of the rifles were taken from the three police officers who were killed in the attack.
Adejobi revealed that the suspect had confessed to joining the vicious gang in 2021 after his release from Olokuta Correctional Center, where he had been on remand since 2019 for alleged involvement in an armed robbery. He added that the gang, which specializes in kidnapping, had carried out four kidnap operations between 2021 and 2023, including the attack on the convoy of the clergyman.
“Before the gang was eventually busted by the Police, two of its members were gunned down in separate encounters with the police.
“The suspect confessed that the gang was responsible for the kidnap of a popular oil dealer at Jetu, Auchi in 2022, where they obtained a ransom of about N70 million before his release.
“The gang equally carried out the kidnap of a businessman along the Benin-Agbor expressway in 2022 and collected N20 million as ransom from the victim’s family.
“Their last attempt at kidnapping after the failed attack on the Apostle was along Owo-Ikare road where they were heavily engaged and repelled by the police escort accompanying their target,” he said.
