Gunmen assassinate community leader at church in Edo

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Gunmen assassinate community leader at church in Edo

Unknown gunmen have assassinated a popular community leader at a church in Edo State.

It was gathered that the assailants invaded the church located in a boundary between Amagba and Evbukhu near Benin City on Sunday, July 9, 2023, and killed the victim identified as Solomon Ehinoma.

According to the Standard Gazette, Ehinoma, popularly known as Ehis, was murdered in the presence of his wife, two children, and church members.

The incident caused pandemonium as people scampered for safety. Ehinoma was a businessman and the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the Oke-oroma Community.

In an interview with the publication, the deceased's wife, Mrs. Osareniye Solomon, spoke on the incident that turned her into a widow.

According to Osareniye, the gunmen laid an ambush for Ehinoma in the church compound, and he was murdered immediately after the Service.

“It was around 11 am, and we rounded off our church service. The pastor then announced that there would be a meeting for the men and women in the church,” she narrated.

"My husband, however, told me he was leaving, and he then went outside from the church, and I asked my daughter to follow him to get something from him for me. I instantly heard a gunshot from outside, and my daughter ran back inside the church while my husband also tried to run back. Before he knew it, I saw many boys surrounding my husband’s car. They were more than ten people.

“Everybody from inside the church ran for their lives. They were shooting without control, and even some church members were hit by stray bullets,”

Mrs Osareniye added that her husband was “shot in front of the church”, and “they also used a machete on him,” she added.

The gunmen did not only kill him, but they also carted away his mobile phone and ATM card before fleeing the scene.

"When they finished killing him, they took his phone and ATM and fled. Three days before my husband’s death, he showed me a text message on his phone he received from a particular number that he and two others have been marked for death before the end of this year,” Osareniye told TSG.

Spokesperson of the State Police Command, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, confirmed the incident.

“Edo State Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Dankwara, has ordered an extensive investigation into the incident. I want to appeal to anybody with useful information to contact the police as such information will be confidential to assist in arresting and prosecuting the perpetrators,” the PPRO stated.