A gang of four suspected armed robbers have allegedly killed the Pastor of Christ Apostolic Church, Sanctuary of Blessing, in the Iju Ishaga are of Lagos state.
PUNCH reports that the hoodlums, who did not take anything from the church or the home of the pastor, attacked the cleric, Pastor Ibukun Adeyinka with a machete before scaling the fence.
According to Adeyinka’s wife Olasunbo, they struck at about 3AM on Tuesday, May 30.
They, however, did not leave with any property of the church as they immediately scaled the fence of the church and fled.
“We were asleep when they entered the church. They came
to our house and we didn’t know anything was happening until we heard a
sound like something was falling. There was a power outage, so we
couldn’t see clearly. My husband was the first to wake up. They broke
into the house through the front door.They didn’t say anything to us even as we asked what they wanted from
us. I just heard my husband shouting, ‘In Jesus name’. I also re-echoed
it, saying ‘Amen, in Jesus name.’ I never knew they had stabbed him in
the chest.They left by scaling the church’s fence. I saw that my husband had
become weak. That was when I knew that they had stabbed him. There was a
lot of blood in the room,” she said.
Adeyinka was taken to a private hospital and then referred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, where he was pronounced dead.
“They didn’t take anything. Up till now, I can’t say who they are and
why they did what they did. He had a lot of ministerial assignments in
June, which will now be on hold. It is painful,” Olasunbo added.
A Facebook user Amah Joyce Eze,
who claims to be a former neighbour of the deceased, said that the
hoodlums were absconding after an operation in the area and used the
church as an escape route.
“He is a pastor of C.A.C in my former street, always
ringing the bell at 12 midnight for prayers. So humble that when he
greets a small girl like me he always bow down. Simple, gentle going
man.
Only for absconding thieves to run into his Church while praying as
usual and machete him, that’s how you met your death too early for us
but God knows best.
Rest in peace Pastor Ibukunoluwa Theophilus Adeyinka.
We will miss you here on earth,” she wrote.
SP Olarinde Famous-Cole, Lagos Police Spokesperson who confirmed the report, stated that investigation is ongoing.
“Some hoodlums gained entrance into the CAC premises and entered into
the house of the pastor. They stabbed him in different parts of his
body, which made him sustain varying degrees of injury. They immediately
ran away by scaling a fence. He died at LASUTH. Investigation is
ongoing to unravel the cause of the attack and apprehend the culprits,”
he said.