The Ogun State-owned security outfit, So-Safe Corps, has owned up to the killing of a Pastor of Latter Rain Revival Christian Church, Adeniyi Adisa, during a shootout with suspected kidnappers.

Suspected kidnappers had stormed the church three months ago and abducted seven members of the church.

Giving an update on the incident, the Commander of the state security outfit, Soji Ganzallo, on Monday, October 31, said:

“Adisa was mistaken for one of the suspected kidnappers, who attacked a Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG) in Abule-Ori, in the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area, where the pastor of the church was killed and seven members abducted.

Ganzallo, who stated this while addressing the family of the slain pastor in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said the preacher was killed during a rescue operation of members of the RCCG. He had in July told journalists that operatives of the security outfit shot dead a suspected kidnapper while rescuing members of RCCG who were kidnapped during the vigil.

The two wives of the slain pastor, Temilade Adisa and Bukola Adisa; as well as a cousin to the deceased, Muiz Akande, had approached the security operatives to seek clarification on the victim’s death.

Addressing the family of the deceased, Ganzallo said: “It will be recalled that on July 1st, our officers responding to distress call at Abule-Ori community in the Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of the state moved in and were able to rescue seven church members earlier kidnapped. That same night, the Corps decided to trail the kidnappers and it was during the operation when the officers engaged in a shootout with the kidnappers that the unintended happened.

It was really an unfortunate situation, a very sad one that none of us is happy about. After this incident, So Safe issued a release to the members of the public that seven kidnapped church members were rescued while one of the kidnappers was gunned down with others escaping with bullet wounds.

We, however, later got to know in the cause of our investigation that the suspect killed was not a kidnapper but Pastor Saheeb Adeniyi Adisa of Oke Oluokun, Ibadan, Oyo State who had earlier been kidnapped by the kidnappers and probably brought along to be freed after collecting the ransom before going for their next operation.”

According to him, the Ogun State Police Command has investigated the case and it has been discovered that Adisa was a kidnapped victim too and he was never a kidnapper. He mentioned that the So-Safe Corps is liaising with the Commissioner of Police, CP Alamutu Abiodun, to provide some compensation to support the children of the deceased within the first week of November.

Speaking on behalf of the family during the press briefing, Akande, who led the family delegation, said that though the death of Adisa was painful, it is clear that he was never a kidnapper as initially portrayed.

The post Ogun Security outfit apologizes to family for killing abducted pastor in error first appeared on MicroSecondNews.

The Ogun State Community, Social Orientation and Safety Corps also known as So-Safe Corps, has announced that it captured a kidnap suspect alive and rescued his victim.

The office of the Director of Information and Public Relations of the Corps, Assistant Commander Moruf Yusuf, disclosed this to newsmen in a statement released on Friday, July 14.

The announcement was made on behalf of the State Commander of the Corps, Commander (Dr) Soji Ganzallo.

Ganzallo said that on the 13th of July, 2023, the headquarters of the Corps charged the Ijebu Zonal Command under ACC Marcus Ayankoya to rescue a woman who was kidnapped about 10 am on her way back from the market.

The commander noted that he instructed his men to swing into action and get the culprits alive and to ensure the victim gained freedom in earnest and they went after them immediately.

He explained that the State Headquarters of the Corps was briefed as the operation was on that the kidnappers collected the victim’s phone, gold jewellery, N100,000 in her possession and 1 ATM Card and they drove her away with her car.

The team could not catch up with them because of logistics issues. Ganzallo further disclosed that the team did not relent until they were informed of strange footprints on farmland at Oke-Ako Community in Ijebu-Ode Local Government Area.

“The Commander then instructed the Isiwo/Itamapako Divisional Officer of the Corps, SC Aderibigbe M.O to mobilize and lead his Special Squad to deal with the suspected kidnappers decisively. The kidnappers were tracked down after a rigorous search for them as they tried to move the victim to a new location.

There was a gun duel between the crime suspects and the corps before the criminals bowed to the superior response of the corps, while one of the kidnappers, who is 32 years old named Tunde Salami and a resident of Ibadan, Oyo State was captured alive and the kidnap victim was rescued unhurt. The rescued victim was traumatized but not harmed. One locally-made pistol was also recovered from the suspect” he said.

Ganzallo added that the suspect and the rescued victim had been transferred to the Nigeria Police Force, Obalende Divisional Police Headquarters for further investigation and likely prosecution.

The post So-Safe rescues abducted victim, arrests suspect in Ogun first appeared on MicroSecondNews.