Police authorities in Abuja, Federal Capital Territory, have announced the arrest of about seven suspects in the killing of an itinerant evangelist, Mrs. Eunice
Elisha, who was brutally murdered at dawn in Kubwa, Abuja on Saturday.
Mrs. Elisha, wife of the Pastor of a Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) was killed by suspected Muslims who were allegedly uncomfortable with her repeated rounds of using megaphones to preach Christian gospel between the hours of 5:00am to 6:00am.
The mother of seven was said to have received threats from the Imam of a Mosque behind the house where she and her husband lived, a development which she purportedly brought to the attention of her husband, Pastor Olawale Elisha.
At another time, a local teacher of Koranic school, came to the same house and begged the deceased for food which was declined. Subsequently, members of the household took ill and barely escaped with their lives.
Mrs. Elisha was said to have attended an all-night vigil with her husband and other members of her household last Friday, but left home early on the fateful day to offer salvation to her neighbours. She was brutally cut down and left to die in her own pool of blood. The police later returned her body from the crime scene and preserved her for further investigations.
The wife of the Vice President of Nigeria, Mrs. Dolapo Osinbajo visited the family early on Monday to offer comfort and condolences on behalf of the second family. Mrs. Osinbajo is a pastor of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG).
Also, the wife of the General Overseer of the Church, Mrs. Foluke Adeboye visited the bereaved family on Sunday.
Curiously, the husband of the slain woman, Pastor Elisha, is offering forgiveness and pardon to the killer of her wife, even before police had opened investigations into the crime. It is a development that does grave disservices to the desire to fight violent crimes in Nigeria. Salvation and forgiveness is usually cheap to come by in Nigeria, hence violence and crimes proliferate.
The Abuja Police command has however, said that it would get to the root of the crime. It announced the initial arrest of some suspects.
Some residents of NEPA, Zone 4, Kubwa, where the crime was committed have started packing and moving out of the neighbourhood saying that they do not want to be caught in the drag net of the police over an affair they know nothing about.