The Nigeria Police Force (NPF) has presented one of the suspects in the attempted assassination of Omega Fire Ministries founder Apostle Johnson Suleiman in October 2022.
Yusuf Isah, 32, was paraded by police on Thursday for the botched assassination attempt on the priest last year.
On October 21, a gang of armed men ambushed Suleiman’s vehicle in Edo State’s Auchi area. Six persons were slain, including three police officers.
Speaking to the press while escorting the suspect, police spokesperson CSP Olumuyiwa Adejobi revealed that Isah was the suspect who fired the initial shot at the cleric’s convoy.
“Operators from the FIB on the trail of the assailants apprehended this suspect, Yusuf Isah, a native of Okene, Kogi State, at Agabara Oluwatobi Phase 2,” he stated. A plumber found five AK-47s, two K2 assault rifles, 180 rounds of live ammo, four suspected locally produced IEDs, one pistol, and four rounds of 9mm ammunition in his apartment.
“Investigation revealed that the suspect was a member of the seven-man gang responsible for the attack on the Apostle’s convoy, and some of the rifles found in his possession were riffles stolen from the three police officers killed in the October 21, 2022 attack.”
According to the authorities, the gang specializes in abduction for ransom and carried out four kidnapping operations between 2021 and 2023 before being apprehended. Two members of the seven-man group were claimed to have been killed by police in separate incidents.
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“The suspect also admitted that the gang’s plan for October 21, 2022, was to kidnap the Apostle and demand a large ransom.” They had been following him for days and had planted an informant on the Benin-Auchi express road to provide them with details on his itinerary on the day of the attack.
“The gang opened fire on the convoy as it approached, but their main target escaped the attack.” Efforts are being made to apprehend
VIDEO: Police parade prime suspect, Isah Yusuf, responsible for the attack of Apostle Suleiman pic.twitter.com/rPqLnGTJTP
— The Whistler Newspaper (@TheWhistlerNG) July 13, 2023