Gunmen Invade Church, Shot Pastor Dead; Abduct Worshippers In Ogun

By Bimbo Ogunnaike

 Ogun State So-Safe Corps have confirmed that gunmen invaded a Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) at Abule-Ori in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of the state, killed a pastor and abducted some worshippers.

Commander of the State So-Safe Corps, Soji Ganzallo, who confirmed the incident on Sunday, July 2 2023, added his officers rescued the seven church members and killed one of the kidnappers during the operation.

In a statement signed by the So-Safe Director of Information and Public Relations, Moruf Yusuf, Ganzallo was quoted as saying that the incident occurred at about 12am Saturday, 1 July, 2023.

 “The special operation team of the Corps, Owode-Egba Zonal Command, under ACC Jimoh Rasaki Omoniyi, received a distress call that some of the members of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Desires of Nations Parish, under Ogun Province 22, Abule-Ori in Obafemi Owode Local Government Area were attacked during a vigil, while seven members of the church were kidnapped and the pastor killed,” Ganzallo said.

According to him, officers of the Corps were charged to go after the suspects as to rescue the victims unhurt, stating that “the officers swung into action immediately.”

Ganzallo further disclosed that the efforts of the corps yielded a positive result as “the seven victims were rescued unhurt while one of the kidnappers was killed and many of the suspects sustained serious injury during a fire exchange.” The state So Safe Corps boss, who explained that the joint team of the police and the So-Safe Corps has launched a manhunt for the fleeing suspected kidnappers, added that the body of the dead kidnapper had been deposited in a nearby morgue.