Pastor, Cultists Sent To Prison Over Attempted Assassination Of Female Pastor

PAUL IYOGHOJIE

The pastor in charge of The Life House Ministry located at Ifeoma Street, opposite Ojo Barracks, Ojo, Lagos, Pastor Benjamin Akinsanya, 56, has been arraigned before the Igbosere Chief Magistrate’s Court with two others for allegedly sponsoring a six-man assassins gang to kill a female pastor, Janet Ogunsola over alleged spiritual popularity tussle.
Other suspects charged with the Pastor for the alleged crime are Darlington Orji, 25 and Liberty Elvis, 29.
Police alleged that Akinsanya paid the suspects N500,000 to terminate the life of the female pastor, who is in charge of Glorious Chapel Ministry located at 1, Adeleye Street, Ojo, Lagos to stop her soaring spiritual popularity than him in Ojo, Lagos where both of them operate churches.
Trouble started in October 2019 when the suspects invaded the residence of the complainant with others still at large armed with guns to attempt to kill her.
It was alleged that when the suspects, who claimed to be suspected cultists, could not found the complainant at home, they allegedly shot sporadically into her residence and left.
Following the ugly development, the distraught complainant sent a save over soul petition to the Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu.
Narrating the incident, Mrs Ogunsola stated; “A woman came to my church to complain of problems and I led my prayer warriors to pray for her and she left. And after about a month, the woman came back to my church to give
testimonies that the prayer she received in my church has solved her problems.
“She also stated that she had been battling with the problems for the past eight years at Akinsanya’s Church without solution. When Akinsanya heard of the testimonies, he vowed to kill me because Almighty God used me to solve the problem of his former church member.
Following the report, IGP Adamu directed the Deputy Commissioner of Police, DCP in charge of FSARS, Lagos, Durosimi Olatoye to hunt down the suspects.
Olatoye gave a marching order to his crack team led by Supol Garba Oseni to fish out the suspects anywhere they may be hiding.
The police team later arrested the pastor who led the operatives to arrest two of the suspects while others managed to escape.
Police sources said that during investigation, the arrested suspects allegedly confessed to the crime and said that Akinsanya allegedly paid them N500,000 to kill the complainant to stop the soaring spiritual popularity of her church in Ojo, Lagos.
One of the suspects, Elvis allegedly stated; “We are members of the Aiye Cult Confraternity in Ojo, Lagos since 2016. In October, Pastor Akinsanya contracted six of us with N500,000 to help him kill the complainant for allegedly snatching his church member.
“When we received information that she was at home, we stormed her residence to attempt to kill her, but we were surprised she was nowhere to be found and that was why we fired guns sporadically into her residence before we left.
Meanwhile, Akinsanya and others were charged before the Igbosere Chief Magistrates Court on a five count charge bothering on attempted murder and belonging to an unlawful society called Aiye Cult confraternity.
Police counsel, CSP Onwumere C.C informed the court that the accused persons committed the offence in October, 2019 at 1, Adeleye Street, Ojo, Lagos.
Onwumere told the court that Pastor Akinsanya sponsored the two accused and others still at large to help him kill the complainant for becoming more popular than him in church ministry in Ojo, Lagos.
He said the offences, the accused persons committed were punishable under sections 411, 230(a) (b), 287 (5) (9) and 45 (1) (9) of the criminal law of Lagos State, 2015.
Court two of the charges reads; that you Benjamin Akinsanya, Darlington Orji, Liberty Elvis did in October, 2019 attempted to Unlawfully kill one Janet Ogunsola by shooting sporadically into her residence while she was sleeping.
The accused persons, however, pleaded not guilty to the alleged crime in the open court and Magistrate, A.A Famobiwo granted them N100, 000 bail each with two sureties each in the like sum.
Famobiwo adjourned the case till 12 December, 2019 for mention and ordered that the defendants be kept at the Ikoyi Correctional Facility till they perfected the bail condition.