…Accuses Police Of Foul Play
A popular Nigerian cleric, Apostle Johnson Suleman, has spoken on the attack by gunmen on his convoy, Friday.
It was reported how gunmen attacked the cleric around Auchi area of Edo State, South-south Nigeria, while Mr Suleman was heading to an unidentified location, hours after returning from a trip to Tanzania.
Mr Suleman, in a video clip posted on his verified Twitter handle Friday night, said seven people, including three police officers, were killed in the attack.
“I just escaped an assassination attempt,” he said.
“They opened fire on my car and kept spraying bullets. My wife and kids were in the escort car in the front. They killed the police; they killed the other people on the other escort car and the buses with us. Seven people, moving in the convoy, were killed,” he said.
While speaking on the attack on his convoy, Mr Suleman suggested that those who sponsored the allegation against him were behind the attack on his convoy.
“There are certain things that have been happening that I have been quiet about. Even if you’re the most careless person on earth, you will not give yourself to so much scandals,” he said, apparently referring to the allegation.
He said those who peddled the allegation were frustrated that he “still moved on” despite their efforts.
“(But Because) I still moved on, they decided to make an attempt on my life,” he said.
“People who did this are expecting me to come out and mention their names so they can come out and deny it. I won’t do that.
“The truth of the matter is, you can’t kill me. My life is in the hands of God, I am a man of God,” the cleric stated.
Mr Suleman said some of those who joined in peddling the allegation against him might have done that to chase clout, but they “don’t know where the fight started from.”
He also suggested that those who sponsored the allegation against him were the people who fought him for asking his church members to kill rampaging killer herdsmen in 2017.
“You don’t have an idea of what happened in 2017- the people who are behind it,” he said.
The cleric said both himself and his family members escaped the attack on his convoy, saying “they are well and fine.”
“I feel bad for the lives that had been taken. We are mourning, but Jesus is Lord. For the young men who opened fire and kept wasting people, I won’t take your life, but the seed you sow, you will reap it,” he said.
The police in Edo State confirmed the attack, saying one of the gunmen was killed during a shoot-out with police operatives.
The police claimed the attackers were kidnappers.
“One of the kidnappers that was caught today while the DPO, Ayodele Suleiman led the operation along Auchi Road after a fierce gun battle, this one was gunned down while others escaped with bullet wounds and bush combing is ongoing,” a voice believed to be that of a police officer, was heard in the background of the clip posted by Mr Suleman on Twitter.
The clip showed a suspect lying lifeless with gunshot injuries in a vehicle.
But Mr Suleman accused the police of foul play, claiming the gunman was hurriedly killed in order to blur their identities and frustrate investigation.
“Lies…They (gunmen) weren’t kidnappers… He was caught and handed over and the police killed him immediately…Why?” he said in another tweet in response to the claim by the police.
“Why killing him on the spot? Who is trying to cover up traces?”
