Posted by Apostle Johnson Suleman, the General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries (OFM), has claimed that assassins were sent after him after he turned down a bag of cash provided to him by unknown ministers in Abuja because they did not like his criticism of killings in Nigeria.
In a 50-second video that our reporter in Benin watched yesterday, Suleman made the assertion.
On October 21 of this year, around 5:45 p.m. on Warrake-Auchi Road in Edo North Senatorial District, an attack on the convoy of a well-known priest from Auchi, Edo State resulted in the deaths of seven people, including three police inspectors.
A police officer in the neighborhood also shot and killed one of the attackers who had been captured.
“In 2017, some ministers called me to Abuja after I spoke out against the mass executions, sat me down, and told me to take this money and shut up,” Suleman recalled.
Take the money or you go by these two, they said while throwing an AK-47 weapon and a newspaper into the air (AK-47 rifle and newspaper).
“I told them I didn’t get what they were saying. They threatened to ensure that I would never again wield the microphone in this nation (Nigeria) if I didn’t do that (make the financial decision). Do not speak out.
“I told them,” I never realized that what I said was such a big thing, and now I want to talk. I told you that you were more than welcome to bother yourself if you wanted to come get me because I would keep chatting, and I did.
The assassination attempt on Apostle Suleman was denounced and a thorough inquiry was demanded by Archbishop Daniel Okoh, president of the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN), and other significant parties inside and outside of Nigeria.
After serving in Tanzania two days earlier, the general overseer of OFM flew back to Nigeria, where his wife and kids met him to board his bulletproof Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) for the trip to Auchi.
The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Auchi, Ayodele Suleiman, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP), was ordered to be immediately withdrew and questioned by the departing Edo State Commissioner of Police, Abutu Yaro, who is now an Assistant Inspector-General of Police (AIG).
He was then briefed at the state’s police headquarters in the Government Reservation Area (GRA), Benin.
The recently promoted AIG claimed that questioning Auchi’s DPO was one of the actions the command took in light of the circumstances surrounding the death of one of the gang members who attacked the cleric’s vehicle.
Assuring the public that no effort would be spared in determining the circumstances underlying the attack, the murder of seven people, and the killing of the captured hoodlum, he pleaded with the public to exercise patience and calm.
The alleged thieves turned over a Toyota Avensis with the Lagos license plate KRD 92 HU.
While asking for calm, Yaro made a commitment that the command would use all of its material and human resources to make sure that the attackers were brought to justice.
The police chief reiterated that security should be everyone’s concern and asked Edo citizens to immediately report any weird movement or unusual gathering within their area to the police and sister security agencies.
The assassination of the detained suspected assassin by a police officer, according to Apostle Suleman, was a cover-up.
He urged Nigeria’s security leaders to guarantee a thorough investigation and careful prosecution to serve as a deterrence to other criminally inclined individuals.