Insecurity: Ex-Female Presidential Candidate mourns RCCG Pastor

Ex-Female Presidential Candidate, Bishop Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies mourns and laments as gunmen were reported to have killed a Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) Pastor, and abduct seven church members during vigil in Ogun State, Nigeria, while she urged the federal government to locate the culprits and take charge.

Bishop Adesanya-Davies is the Secretary General to the Elders’ Council of Nigerian Supreme Council for Ecclesiastical Affairs (NSCEA). She is also the Country President of the United Nations Positive Livelihood Awards Centre (UNITED-NATIONS POLAC).

Adesanya-Davies laments a report by James Ogunnaike, yesterday which stated that, “Unknown gunmen on Saturday stormed a branch of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), in Abule-Ori in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State, killing the Pastor and abducting seven worshippers.”

The Commander of the Ogun State government owned security outfit, So-Safe Corps, Soji Ganzallo, who confirmed the incident, said his officers rescued the seven church members and killed one of the kidnappers during the operation.

Director of Information and Public Relations of So-Safe, Moruf Yusuf, in a statement he made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, said the incident occurred at about 12am on Saturday, July 1.

Ganzallo said “the special operation team of the Corps, Owode-Egba Zonal Command, under ACC Jimoh Rasaki Omoniyi, received a distress call that some members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Desires of Nations Parish, under Ogun Province 22, Abule-Ori in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area were attacked during a vigil, while seven members of the church were kidnapped and the pastor killed.”

According to him, officers of the Corps were charged to go after the suspects and ensure that the kidnapped victims were rescue unhurt, stating that “the officers swung into action immediately.”

Ganzallo further disclosed that the efforts of the corps yielded a positive result as “the seven victims were rescued unhurt, while one of the kidnappers was killed and many of the suspects sustained serious injury during exchange of gun fire.”

He added that the joint team of the Police and the So-Safe Corps are after the fleeing suspected kidnappers to capture them alive, disclosing that the body of the dead kidnapper had been deposited in a nearby morgue.

Adesanya-Davies says it is so sad that a branch of the Church of the Nigerian First lady herself, Pastor Remi Tinubu, RCCG has again been ravaged by Unknown gunmen as usual, and the Pastor killed, while seven church members were abducted during prayer vigil in Ogun State.

In a similar report, “Gunmen Kill Kwara Chief, and Abduct three persons on Friday night”, they stormed Iwo community in Isin LGA of Kwara State and killed a local chief, Raphael Adewuyi, and abducted three persons.

“A source explained that the gunmen attacked a filling station at the Sabaja area of the town and abducted the manager, a guard and a cleric with the Christ Apostolic Church (CAC).

“The Chairman of the Transition Implementation Committee (TIC) of Isin, Engr Tunde Fadipe, said Chief Adewuyi was killed by a stray bullet in his room during the incident..Fadipe said that the council, in conjunction with the police and other security forces, had mobilised to rescue the victims.

The spokesperson of the state police command, Okasanmi Ajayi, who confirmed the incident, said, “Three people were abducted while one man was hit by a stray bullet in his house.

“We have sent our men and vigilantes to go after the abductors and rescue the three people.”

Bishop Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies again laments, as she commensurate with families, “this also happened in my state, Kwara State”, she added.