A suspect arrested over the deadly attack on the convoy of a Nigerian televangelist, Apostle Johnson Suleman, has confessed that they were paid N50 million to kill the cleric.
Mr Suleman, the founder of Omega Fire 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 Force spokesperson, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, in Abuja last week.
In a recorded interview posted on Twitter, Mr Isah detailed the operational tactics his 8-member gang adopted to evade arrest from security agents, saying it was only God that wanted him arrested.
“It is not easy for the Police Force to track us. We don’t make calls, the phone I am using I’ve never used it to call anybody. We specialised in using the Telegram platform to communicate with ourselves.
“Telegram uses username, not number, unlike WhatsApp. Even the line we are using to buy data, it is not a registered line. We did not register any line by ourselves, and we did not open any account with our own identity.
“I can only say that only God wanted to track me down because of the calibre of people we have assaulted.
“We wanted to kill him. Somebody planned it, but I don’t know the person. It was Labista and Eliazu. Labista is on the run, but Eliazu is dead.”
Mr Isah declined knowledge of who sponsored the attack, but said his gang members told him they got N50 million to kill the cleric.
“I just wish I could see him (the cleric) one-on-one to beg for forgiveness. I’m really sorry,” he said, adding that it has been “hell” for his gang members after the attack.
“We lost two of our leaders. After Eliazu, the next leader, Ejima, also died. I am the next leader after Ejima. Now I have been arrested.”
In another Twitter video, the suspect said four gang members – three in Abuja and one in Ekiti State – were still remaining.
For those who are still arguing and doubting, that’s the video of when they caught him..#trendingnow
3/3 pic.twitter.com/pQKGoVGT1K
— PRINCE EHI NICHOLAS (@EhiNicholas) July 13, 2023
The Attack
In October last year, it was reported how the gunmen attacked Mr Suleman’s convoy, killing seven people, including three police officers.
Mr Isah, in his confessional video, said their driver, “Abdulrahman”, also died during the incident.
The attack occurred around the Auchi area of Edo State while Mr Suleman was heading to an unidentified location, hours after returning from a trip to the East African country of Tanzania.
The cleric had described the attack as an “assassination attempt”.
Force spokesperson, Mr Adojobi, had said Mr Isah was arrested in Ondo State.
“Intelligence revealed that the 7-man syndicate has been actively involved in kidnapping operations within Edo State and its environs and have carried out about four kidnapping operations between 2021 and 2023 before the gang was eventually busted by the police.”
