At least six people, including three policemen, were killed when gunmen opened fire on the convoy of Johnson Suleman, General Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries International, Auchi, Edo State, on Friday.
The cleric, according to reports, was heading for the headquarters of his church when he was attacked at Water Tanker Junction, Warrake road in Auchi.
A source said the incident took place around 5pm. In a video of the incident, a bullet-ridden SUV was sighted. A male voice said, “Direct shooting”, and a woman responded, “Jesus, thank you.”
Commenting on the incident, one Hilary Ekiegini said, “Lord we are pained for the loss of lives but we still say thank you for preserving our father, your servant Johnson Suleman.”
Spokesperson of the Edo State Command, Chidi Nwanbuzor, confirmed the attack, saying, “He was returning from Benin City when hoodlums attacked him at Auchi, during the attack three police men, two drivers, a female domestic staff were killed while another domestic staff who is still missing.”
A witness of the attack on the convoy of Apostle Johnson Suleman, General Overseer, Omega Fire Ministry, has narrated how the preacher escaped the attack.
The gunmen suspected to be kidnappers had shot directly at vehicles in the convoy. A source said the attackers, who had been trailing Suleman from Benin City, opened fire around river Ole.
A source said Suleman opted not to go through Benin-Auchi road because of the bad situation of the road.
“He was returning from Benin to Auchi after a programme. He took Ifor road in Ondo State due to the bad condition of the Benin-Auchi road. The gunmen who had been trailing him opened fire on his convoy when they got to river Ole; Suleman drove the ‘front vehicle himself while two vehicles followed behind; they slowed when they got to a place that had speed breaker.
“The gunmen who thought he was in one of the back vehicles opened fire on them, and in the process killed police officers, two drivers and a lady. On hearing the gunshots, Suleiman accelerated and escaped from the scene.”
The source said when the attackers realised that they missed their target, they made U-turn and headed towards Benin but the vigilante and security team comprising police and soldiers went after them.
“When the gunmen discovered that security were after them, they hijacked a bus, killed one of the female passengers and used others as cover for escape. But one of them has been arrested.”
In a Twitter post, Shehu Sani, a former Senator, corroborated some of the things that the witness said.
“I have just spoken with Suleiman. He confirmed to me that it was an assassination attempt on his life and that some of his aides lost their lives. He also confirmed there was arrest.”
