Armed bandits on Friday attacked the convoy of a popular Nigerian cleric, Apostle Johnson Suleman, killing seven people, including three police officers and a lady, yet to be identified.
Apostle Suleman and his family were unhurt.
In a video, he posted, he said it was an assassination attempt. He claimed it was orchestrated by some people he would not want to name. (See video on our Telegram channel).
The attack occurred around the Auchi area of Edo State, South-south Nigeria, while Mr Suleman was heading to an unidentified location, hours after returning from a trip to Tanzania.
One of the gunmen was reportedly shot dead during the attack, according to a police spokesperson, who also said they were searching for Suleman’s domestic worker, who is apparently missing after the attack.
The deadly attack on the cleric’s convoy highlights the prevalent security challenges in Nigeria. There has been an increase in such attacks in different parts of the country.
See videos of the scene and the cleric’s comments here.
