Pelumi Olajengbesi, an Abuja-based lawyer, on Saturday asked the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) to arrest and question Apostle Johnson Suleman, the General-Overseer of Omega Fire Ministries International, over the attack on his convoy on Friday which left seven persons dead.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that according to Olajengbesi, questioning Suleman is important for the cleric’s protection and “towards finding the truth and justice”.
It would be recalled that Apostle Suleman escaped death by a whisker on Friday evening when some gunmen attacked his convoy in Auchi, Edo State, killing seven people, including three police officers.
Following the attack, the fiery cleric posted a video across his social media handles, saying it was an assassination attempt and suggesting that those who sponsored several defamations against him were responsible for the attack.
Reacting to the video via his verified Facebook page, Olajengbesi criticised the televangelist, branding the video “insensitive”.
Read Olajengbesi’s full post below:
I have watched Apostle Suleiman’s video after the very painful and unfortunate attack on his convoy yesterday by Unknown Gunmen (UGM) that left seven person dead and others injured. I believe objectively that in a Working Society as we have seen in sane climes, the Nigeria Police Force would have taken Apostle Suleiman into Custody for inquisition, Interrogation and even for his own Protection.
Let me firstly deeply express my sympathies to the Families of the deceased, I pray God grant them the needed strength and fortitude to bear such a painful loss and reward them with justice.
I think the video by Apostle Suleiman was made in a rush which defines his personality as an individual and certainly not his office as an Apostle; I beg not to be misunderstood. The video is very insensitive as he carelessly attempts to validate some controversial public perception about him rather than mourn and take the time to show concern for the dead. I will therefore make five submissions.
Apostle Suleiman’s attempt to lean off the concern, buzz and attention of the whole world with regards to the unfortunate attack to state that all allegations of Sexual Excapades relating to him are configured and calculated to bring him down, and attempting to draw a nexus between such allegations and the dastardly attack is incongruous and offensive to those whose lives were lost as it trivialized their death.
Apostle Suleiman also tried to validate the claim that he is a carrier of the protection of God and that no one can kill him whereas others in his entourage were killed, this is even though he was in a bullet-proof car. This again is not only unfair but grossly insensitive and does not comply with any scriptural authority.
He also gave the impression that he knows the attackers but did not mention their names and further claimed that they have been after him since 2017. This claim is both dangerous and incriminating as it suggests that he has hard evidence on how to bring these assailants to justice but has chosen to impede the course of justice and let them get away with their nefarious acts.
The video is prejudicial to the investigation of the police and gives the impression that he has secret deals or issues with some powerful persons who are determined to bring him down and are not opposed to bring down as many as are with him. He indeed has stories to tell which he must tell appropriately.
If truly he knows the attackers, he is under an indispensable duty at law to come forward and provide them or provide cogent information that would inevitably lead to their arrest by the Police. As earlier noted as a matter of fact, concealing their identity is a grave offence under the law as it would be calculated to be an intentional act of obstruction of Justice and aiding and abetting. In fact, he could also been seen as a Conspirator as it is a fact that the longer he conceals their identity, the more time and opportunity he provides for them to make an escape.
The Nigeria Police must bring him in for two clear reasons;
A. To protect him from further possible attack, and;
B. To present him an opportunity to establish his relationship with the assailants after his life and provide details on how he got to know they are the killers and possibly information on how they can be arrested.
Let me just give this advise, Nigeria is no longer safe. Many with security convoys have been attacked, even the President. We must all be more careful and vigilant because Nigeria is no longer safe.
Post-Script: Sadly, as I was writing this, I heard the suspect arrested was killed in Police custody. This is a shame to this country. The circumstances surrounding the death of the only suspect caught alive and who could have divulged very important information towards the arrest of the others is a failure of policing, and inherently suspicious as the suspect was alive when handed over to the police. Immediate investigation must begin on this note and regard as the public deserve to come to a truth of this entire sordid affair.
