The spate of killings by gunmen took another dimension on Tuesday night with the killing of Rev. Emeka Unaegbu, the presiding pastor of Goodnews Power Assembly International, in Nyanya-Jikwoyi area of Abuja.
The pastor was conducting a lone vigil in his church when he was attacked by his assailants.
The attack was, however, not discovered until the morning of Wednesday when the assailants had disappeared.
An eyewitness told The Nation that Rev. Unaegbu was barely alive when help came his way and gave up the ghost on the way to the hospital.
The news of his death threw the entire area into mourning.
The incident, according to investigation, has since been reported to the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Police Command.
On being contacted yesterday, however, the FCT Police Command said Rev. Unaegbu was not killed by gunmen inside the church.
A statement issued by the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Yusuf Mariam, on Friday, April 16, 2021, said: “The FCT Police Command wishes to debunk an erroneous publication being circulated in some sections of the social media insinuating that Pastor Evans Unaegbu ‘m’ was attacked and killed by gunmen at his worship centre along Jikwoyi axis.
“Contrary to this speculation, in prompt response to a distress call from a resident of Jikwoyi who resides near to the late pastor’s worship centre, a team of police detectives from Jikwoyi Division immediately visited the scene, where they found the late Pastor Evans in an unconscious state and took him to the hospital where the doctor certified him dead.”
The police said preliminary investigation does not suggest any form of violence as no mark of violence or struggle was visible on his body.
The Commissioner of Police (CP) Bala Ciroma, the statement said, had ordered a thorough investigation to include a postmortem on the body to ascertain the true cause of death.
Mariam said: “He further urged residents to remain calm, law-abiding, avoid circulating fake news and allow the law to take its cause.”
A member of the church, who spoke with The Nation on condition of anonymity, expressed shock over the death of the pastor.
Source: The Nation
