‘We have been paid N50m to kill Apostle Suleman,’ suspect confesses

A suspect arrested over the lethal assault on the convoy of a Nigerian televangelist, Apostle Johnson Suleman, has stated that they have been paid N50 million to kill the cleric.

Mr Suleman, the founding father of Omega Hearth Ministry, was attacked in October 2022 in Edo State, South-south Nigeria.

Yusuf Isa, a 32-year-old plumber from Okene in Kogi State, was paraded by the Pressure spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in Abuja final week.

In a recorded interview posted on Twitter, Mr Isah detailed the operational ways his eight-member gang adopted to evade arrest from safety brokers, saying it was solely God that needed him arrested.

Extra Confession from the sniper who try and assassinate God’s Servant.
‘if Apst Johnson Suleman can forgive me, i can be a member of his church’ – stated the sniper.

Now The query that wants a solution is;
Who ship them to assault God’s servant?#meganicholasanthonyblog
1/2 pic.twitter.com/KNwbzQHaVr

— PRINCE EHI NICHOLAS (@EhiNicholas) July 16, 2023

“It isn’t simple for the Police Pressure to trace us. We don’t make calls, the telephone I’m utilizing I’ve by no means used it to name anyone. We specialised in utilizing the Telegram platform to speak with ourselves.

“Telegram makes use of username, not quantity, in contrast to WhatsApp. Even the road we’re utilizing to purchase knowledge, it isn’t a registered line. We didn’t register any line by ourselves, and we didn’t open any account with our personal id.

“I can solely say that solely God needed to trace me down due to the calibre of individuals we now have assaulted.

“We needed to kill him. Anyone deliberate it, however I don’t know the individual. It was Labista and Eliazu. Labista is on the run, however Eliazu is lifeless,” he stated when requested about their intention for the assault.

Mr Isah declined data of who sponsored the assault however stated his gang members informed him they acquired N50 million to kill the cleric.

“I simply want I might see him (the cleric) one on one to beg for forgiveness. I’m actually sorry,” he stated, including that it has been “hell” for his gang members after the assault.

“We misplaced two of our leaders. After Eliazu, the subsequent chief, Ejima, additionally died. I’m the subsequent chief after Ejima. Now I’ve been arrested.”

In one other Twitter video, the suspect stated 4 gang members – three in Abuja and one in Ekiti State – have been nonetheless remaining.

For individuals who are nonetheless arguing and doubting, that is the video of after they caught him..#trendingnow

3/3 pic.twitter.com/pQKGoVGT1K

— PRINCE EHI NICHOLAS (@EhiNicholas) July 13, 2023

The Assault

PREMIUM TIMES in October final yr reported how the gunmen attacked Mr Suleman’s convoy, killing seven individuals, together with three cops.

Mr Isah, in his confessional video, stated their driver, “Abdulrahman”, additionally died throughout the incident.

The assault occurred across the Auchi space of Edo State whereas Mr Suleman was heading to an unidentified location, hours after getting back from a visit to the East African nation, Tanzania.

The cleric had described the assault as an “assassination try”.

Pressure spokesperson, Mr Adojobi, had stated Mr Isah was arrested in Ondo State.

“Intelligence revealed that the seven-man syndicate has been actively concerned in kidnapping operations inside Edo State and its environs and have carried out about 4 kidnapping operations between 2021 and 2023 earlier than the gang was finally busted by the police.”

Assault on Clerics

Gunmen in Edo State have carried out a sequence of high-profile kidnappings within the state and, in lots of instances, killed their victims.

This newspaper final month reported how a Catholic priest within the state, Charles Igechi, was killed whereas on his approach again from St. Michael’s School, a College the place he served as Vice Principal.

Mr Igechi was the second Catholic priest to be killed within the state by gunmen inside one yr.

PREMIUM TIMES, in June 2022, reported how Christopher Odia, the administrator of St. Michael’s Catholic Church, Ikabigbo, in Etsako West Native Authorities Space of the state, was kidnapped whereas popping out for Sunday Mass at his rectory and killed a couple of hours after.

Every week after Mr Odia was killed, gunmen within the state once more kidnapped two Catholic clergymen, Udo Peter of St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, Uromi and Philemon Oboh of St. Joseph Retreat Middle, Ugboha in Esan South East Native Authorities Space, this newspaper reported.

This newspaper, in July 2022, reported how the police rescued an Italian Catholic priest, Luigi Brena, who gunmen kidnapped in Edo.