Church In Serious Turmoil As Pastor’s New Wife Gets Shot During Service
Many worshippers at the Power of Pentecost Liberation Ministry, Okposi Achara in Ohaozara Local Fovernment Area of Ebonyi State were recently shocked when armed men stormed their church and attacked them.
The church members were forced to close their night prayer sessions following the attack on the church by unknown gunmen.
It was gathered that the incident happened at about 8:00p.m as the church programme presided over by Prophet Uchechukwu Elijah was underway.
The assailants had targeted the pastor’s new wife, Chinyere, and shot her at close range on her forehead before fleeing the church.
The gunmen shot her when she went outside the Church building to urinate during the prayer session.
The incident, it was gathered, brought the church service to an abrupt end as the worshippers abandoned their Bibles and other belongings and scampered for safety.
A member of the Church who was inside the building when the incident occurred told Sunday Sun that the worshippers initially mistook the gunshot to be knock-outs from youths living in the area.
The source who gave his name as Onyema said that the woman was found on the ground outside the Church about 15 minutes after the gunshot was heard.
The source said that another member of the church who went out to urinate saw the pastor’s wife lying in a pool of her blood behind the church building.
He said: “That night, everywhere was noisy. The church generator was blasting and also the noise from the women praying inside the church made it difficult for us to actually understand that it was a gunshot. But we heard the sound ‘taaa’, but we thought it was sound of knock-out. You know we are already in Christmas mood. But few minutes later, another church member went out to urinate and saw the pastor’s wife on the ground and shouted, then, everyone now came out.”
Church suspects pastor’s jilted lovers
Sunday Sun gathered that the incident happened a month after the pastor, Prophet Elija, who hails from Imo State but lives in Okposi, married Chinyere, a native of Okposi.
Residents of the area said that the pastor, a young man in his 30s, had another wife who resides in Lagos before getting married to Chinyere, a member of his church, in October this year.
It was, however, gathered that the choice of Chinyere as his new wife did not go down well with some elders and leaders of the church who had earlier ‘arranged’ another lady for the pastor to marry before he settled for Chinyere.
A source who lives within the vicinity of the church, told Sunday Sun that elders and leaders of the church had been at loggerheads with the man of God over his choice of Chinyere before the attack on the church.
“Before the woman was shot, there was already crisis between the pastor and some elders and leaders of the church. They were not happy that he (pastor) left the woman they brought for him from Onicha Igboeze (nearby community) to marry and went and married another person. The Onicha lady is a member of the church too and she was the one who has been cooking and doing everything for the pastor. Everybody was seeing her as the pastor’s wife before he went and married Chinyere. They used to fight inside the church. The Onicha girl always fought with the pastor’s wife before the attack in the church,” the source said.
He further alleged that the elders of the church, the pastor’s first wife who lives in Lagos and the pastor’s jilted girl friend were the ones who planned and executed the attack.
But one of the pastors of the church, who gave his name as Pastor Kingsley, told Sunday Sun that they were yet to ascertain the identities of the people behind the attack.
Pastor Kingsley, however, disclosed that the pastor’s wife was responding to treatment in an undisclosed hospital in Enugu, where she was taken to after initial intervention at a private hospital in the community.
He said: “We don’t know those behind the attack. But it is unfortunate. Our Prophet is not around. He has gone to Enugu to see the wife in the hospital. But he has reported the matter to the police in Abakaliki for investigation.”
Efforts to get the distraught pastor, Prophet Elijah, for comments failed as he neither picked nor returned calls made to his mobile phone.
E.X.P.O.S.E.D: Nigeria jihadists kill five soldiers, kidnap 35 civilians in two attacks
Five Nigerian soldiers were killed when Islamic State-aligned jihadists ambushed a military convoy and more than 30 civilians were also kidnapped in another attack, military sources said on Sunday.
The military convoy was hit in northeast Borno state and militants also attacked a transport convoy in the same region a day before, abducting 35 people and killing one woman.
Nigeria’s Boko Haram and a splinter group, the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP), have killed 36,000 people and displaced around two million as part of a decade-long conflict. Saturday’s attack on the military convoy took place outside of Mafa, 44 kilometres (27 miles) north of the regional capital Maiduguri. “The terrorists fired an RPG (rocket-propelled grenade) on the convoy which hit one of the vehicles with five soldiers in it,” one security source said.
“All five were killed.” The insurgents seized two vehicles in the attack, said a second source who gave the same toll. ISWAP split from the mainstream Boko Haram six years ago and rose to become a dominant group. The jihadist group focuses on military targets, raiding bases, ambushing troops and planting mines on the roads, but recently they have been attacking and abducting civilians. At least 35 people were kidnapped late Friday by ISWAP militants at a fake checkpoint in Garin Kuturu village outside Jakana, 25 kilometres from Maiduguri
Niger state Speaker, Clerk test positive for covid-19
There is panic and anxiety in Minna, Niger state capital as the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Barrister Bawa Wuse, the Clerk, Alhaji Mohammed Kagara and some members of the House tested positive for Coronavirus. Two weeks ago, a female member of the House, was said to have tested positive to the virus which necessitated other members including the Speaker to embark on the routine check.
The check saw most of the members negative except the Speaker and Clerk of the House. Both of them have since gone into isolation. The two principal officers it was learnt are doing fine as they are responding to treatment. About two weeks ago, the state Governor, Alhaji Abubakar Sani Bello personally announced that he was positive for COVID-19.
That was his second time of testing positive to the virus since the breakout of the pandemic few months ago. Just last week, due to the spate of second wave of the disease, the state government directed all Civil Servants to remain at home indefinitely to stem the spread except those on essential duties. Government also announced the immediate closure of all private, public Schools and Tertiary Institutions in the state from last Friday for one month to further curb the spread.
Davido attends his driver’s wedding, performs for guests
Award-winning Nigerian singer, Davido has has attended and also performed at the wedding ceremony of his driver, Babatunde and his heartthrob, Omotayo.
Recall the “FEM” crooner announced few weeks ago that his driver would be getting married and that he’s excited to be his Best Man.
The “A Better Time” album owner has now taken to social media and shared pictures and videos of him performing at his driver’s wedding.
In one of the videos, Davido is seen performing “FEM”, a hit song off his “A Better Time” album, to the excitement of the wedding guests who also sang along with him.
Covid: Nations impose UK travel bans over new variant
European nations have begun to apply travel bans with the UK after it reported a more infectious and “out of control” coronavirus variant.
Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands and Belgium are all halting flights and travel. The measures vary and are initially generally short-term.
An EU meeting will be held on Monday morning to discuss a more co-ordinated response.
The new variant has spread quickly in London and south-east England.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Saturday introduced a new tier four level of restrictions for those areas, scrapping a planned relaxation of rules over the Christmas period for millions of people.
Top health officials said that there was no evidence the new variant was more deadly, or would react differently to vaccines, but it was proving to be up to 70% more transmissible.
2023 is ‘do or die’ in Kano, we won’t allow ‘inconclusive’ election – Kwankwaso
The former governor of Kano State, Rabiu Kwankwaso, has warned the ruling party in the state, APC, not to take the PDP for granted and plan a repeat of the Kano ‘Inconclusive’ governorship election of 2019.
The former governor said his party, PDP, and his Kwankwasiyya supporters, will not allow a repeat of that.
In 2019, the PDP was leading in the governorship election in Kano before it was declared inconclusive by the electoral commission, INEC. A supplementary election held in disputed areas was controversially won by the APC, this securing a second term for Governor Abdullahi Ganduje.
Mr Kwankwaso made his statement, on Thursday, while addressing a packed audience, mostly made up of his Kwankwasiyya followers, who hailed him as he made the statements.
The video of the statement was later posted on Facebook on Kwankwasiyya Reporters, a page mainly dedicated for propagating his political speeches and events.
In the video, Mr Kwankwaso in Hausa language, said: “now they are power drunk because they are enjoying the seat of power, they are not thinking of leaving power because for them 2023 is indefinite.
EPL: Mourinho reveals “mistake” that caused Tottenham’s 2-0 defeat to Leicester
Tottenham Hotspur manager, Jose Mourinho, has refused to blame Serge Aurier for a penalty he conceded in their 2-0 loss to Leicester City in the Premier League on Sunday.Aurier conceded a penalty in the first half when he fouled Wesley Fofana in the box.
In the Amazon documentary ‘Spurs All or Nothing’, Mourinho was caught on camera telling the Ivorian defender, that he was scared of him giving away a “sh*t penalty with VAR”.He however labelled the one Aurier gave away today as a “mistake”.“It was a mistake, not a moment of madness.
I have to admit, you have to know where you are when you’re in the box.“You have to know that the player was going away from goal without any kind of danger. You have to describe it as a mistake,” Mourinho told Sky Sports.