Pastor Chukwuemeka Okpokpo
Tragedy struck at the Lord Chosen Charismatic Revival Church on Monday when armed robbers , intercepted Pastor Chukwuemeka Okpokpo of Church when he was returning from withdrawing money in a bank and shot him dead.
The incident at Alakoso Avenue, at Ijesha near the headquarters of the church, occured at about 3 pm.
According to reports, Pastor Okpokpo was reportedly returning with N3 million collected from a bank at Apple Junction, FESTAC Town.One report quotes an eyewitness as recounting that the hoodlums had lurked in the area, waiting for the cleric, which suggest that they were acting on a tip off or insider information..
“They had been lurking around the area for a while, but no one suspected that anything was fishy. When they saw the church vehicle approaching, they stopped him and asked where the money was.
“The pastor replied, ‘Which money?’ They did not even wait for any explanation. One of the robbers went inside the vehicle and took the money. The other gang member then shot him in the head,” the eyewitness reportedly said.
It was learnt that residents who rushed to the crime scene immediately after the incident had raised the alarm. They were later to discover that the victim was wearing the Lord’s Chosen reflective jacket.
Some residents reportedly alerted members of the church, who took the pastor to the church’s clinic at Ijesha, where he was confirmed dead.
Kenneth Nwosu, the Lagos state police public relations officer, confirmed the incident, adding that the case had been transferred to the department of criminal investigations in Yaba. The officer stressed that intensive efforts were being made to apprehend the gunmen.
Vanguard reports that church members crowded Okpokpo’s Iju home to commiserate with his family.
The family members said that Okpokpo’s body had been taken to his home town in Amizi, Ikwuano local government area of Umuahia of Abia state.
