Gunmen Kill Church Founder, Pastor In Akwa Ibom

Parishioners and local residents of Ikot Ekang, a sleepy community in Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom state are in the mourning mood following the gruesome murder of the founder of the Mount of Solution Redeemed Church (MSRC), Apostle Elisha Asuquo, LEADERSHIP newspaper reports.

The Pastor in-charge of the Church, Aniekan Ibanga, was also shot dead by yet-to-be-identified gunmen who stormed the National Headquarters of the Church at about 7:30pm at the weekend, disrupting Parish meeting which was ongoing, LEADERSHIP learnt.

A resident who did not want his name in print recounted that the assailants stormed the Church premises on a motorcycle and after committing the crime, left through Abak-Ikot Ekpene Federal Highway.

It was garthered the late Apostle Asuquo hailed from Adiasim in Essien Udim Local Government Area, while Pastor Aniekan Ibanga, was a native of Ikot Obioikpa village, Afaha Obong Clan, in Abak LGA.

Apostle Asuquo, according to Church sources, was handling a crucial and heated marital reconciliation matter between a lady and her estranged husband before the sad incident.

A community leader in Ikot Ekang, Bishop John Jeremiah Kpongkpong, described the killing of the two clerics as shocking, noting that such ugly incident has never happened in the community before.

“It was around 8 p.m., I was attending a church programme when somebody called and asked me whether I have heard that Prophet Elisha and his Pastor have been shot dead. While still on that call, another person came in and told me that Prophet Elisha and Pastor Aniekan have been killed.

“I had to close from the Church and rush to the palace of the Village Head to inform him of what has happened. After informing the Village Head, he instructed me to call the Police, which I did.

“On getting to the Church premises, I saw many people gathering while Policemen from Abak Division were performing their duty,” Bishop Kpongkpong, narrated.

Chief Christopher Udotim, leader of the delegation from Ikot Obio Ikpa Village where the late Pastor hailed from, at the Palace of Village Head of Ikot Obioikpa, said they were in the Palace “to enquire whether there was any issue reported about the Church before, which could have led to the killing of our son, Pastor Aniekan Udosen.”

Also speaking, the Youth President of Ikot Obio Ikpa Village, Mr. Alphonsus Alphonsus Okoro, described the killing of their son as painful and a great loss, and called on the two villages to cooperate and investigate the matter with a view to bringing the culprits to book, to which the Youth President of Ikot Ekang village, Mr. Godwin Adahada, agreed.

Responding, the Village Head of Ikot Ekang, thanked the Village Head of Ikot Obioikpa, and his delegation for the visit, describing the incident as unprecedented in the history of the village and urged security agents to spread their dragnet wide enough to fish out the perpetrators.

The Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), CSP Odiko MacDon confirmed the incident.

He said the Commissioner of Police, CP Waheed Ayirara has ordered manhunt for the suspects, assuring that the ongoing discreet investigations would culminate in the arrest and subsequent prosecution of the culprits.