Elisha, whose birthday was just a couple of weeks away, was stabbed in the stomach and she also had a cut in her neck.
The 42-year-old woman was a deaconess at the Divine Touch Parish of the RCCG, Old NEPA Road, Phase 4, Kubwa.
The RCCG preacher was found dead in a pool of her own blood with a copy of the Bible, a megaphone and a mobile phone.
She
was found dead by residents who alerted policemen who came to evacuate
her remains to the police station where her husband went to identify the
body.
Speaking
to journalists at their residence, Eunice’s husband, Mr. Olawale
Elisha, who is also a pastor at the RCCG, said his wife had gone out to
preach in the neighbourhood around 5 am only for him to hear the report
of her murder.
Elisha,
who looked pensive and dejected, said, “My wife always went out early
in the morning for ‘Morning Cry’ (evangelism). There was a particular
day she went out and she told me that there was a mosque at the back
where they commented about what she said. So I just cautioned her.
“This
morning (Saturday), she went out around 5 am and I was still in bed
because we had a vigil which she participated in for a short while
because of the ‘Morning Cry’ she planned to undertake. Two of my boys
are footballers, thus, they went to the football pitch to play. And when
they came back, they told me that they heard some footballers saying
that some hoodlums had butchered a woman who was preaching early this
morning.”
Following the report of his children, he decided to check if his wife was safe.
“When
I heard this, wearing only a pair of shorts, we walked towards the area
my son had said the incident occurred; we didn’t see anybody but we saw
blood on the ground. I asked a policeman around and he said it was true
but that they had taken the body to Phase 4 Police Station.
“I
went to the police station with my children and when we got there, I
saw the lifeless body of my wife at the back of a police van. She was
later taken to a mortuary. The incident happened between 5 am and 5.30
am because she usually went out at 5 am and returned by 6 am,” the
husband of the deceased said.
The couple got married in July 2000.
“My
wife was so committed to anything that is of God. She was a reckless
giver to God’s work. She rarely missed any programme in the church. We
have seven children,” he stated.
According to him, his wife had no quarrel with anyone that could have warranted her murder.
“I
see her as a martyr and she died for Christ and whether the people are
caught or not, they should forgive them. My prayer is that if they can
accept Christ, that will be a gain to Christ,” the bereaved husband
said.
A
senior police officer at the Kubwa Divisional Police Station, confirmed
the incident, but referred our correspondent to the Divisional Police
Officer, who was not available.
The FCT Police Command told the News Agency of Nigeria that it had arrested some suspects in connection with the killing of the RCCG preacher.
FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Manzah Anjuguri, confirmed the arrest on Saturday.
He
stated that the Command Commissioner of Police, Mr. Alkali Usman, had
directed the homicide section to take over the investigation.
“We have made some arrests and they are helping in our investigation,” Anjuguri said.
He, however, did not mention the number of suspects arrested.
He said the personnel of the command had visited the scene of the incident, adding that further investigations had begun.
A
lawyer and friend of the Elishas, David Ude-Chukwu, described Eunice’
murder as a hate crime brought about by religious insensitivity, noting
that the constitution allowed every Nigerian to practise their chosen
religion.
Ude-Chukwu,
said, “I have known this family for about 20 years and I can describe
Mrs. Elisha as an industrious, humble and Christian preacher who was
passionate about Christ. When I heard that a woman was killed, I was
wondering who it was until I learnt she was the victim of this barbarous
and dastardly murder. Obviously, she was killed on account of her
religious activity. Under the law, all Nigerians were permitted to
practise their religion, but I don’t know why some people are
intolerant. Her murder also showed that there is no security in this
country.”
Another
neighbour, Pastor Adebayo Tiamiyu, said of the slain preacher, “Mrs.
Eunice Olawale was known as a passionate preacher who went out every
morning to evangelise and she had been doing this for many years.
Everybody loved her because of her passion for things of God. I learnt
that she went out to preach as usual when she was attacked and killed by
unknown people. She was stabbed in the neck and the stomach and nothing
was taken from her because we saw her GSM phone, megaphone and Bible
with her, so obviously, the intention was not to rob, but to kill her.
The husband is still in shock and we had to sedate him, so that he can
sleep. It is a very tragic incident and we call on security agencies to
track down the perpetrators and bring them to book.”
A woman simply known as Asabe also said neighbours were shocked over the preacher’s murder.
She
said, “Mrs. Olawale normally go out for evangelism everyday and she was
well known in this area. We heard that a woman was killed around
Pipeline junction, some metres from the house. In fact, it was one of
her sons who came back to tell his father that he learnt a preacher was
killed at the pipeline junction. We all went there and saw lot of blood
on the ground, but the police had evacuated her corpse to their station.
When Mr. Elisha got to the station and saw his wife’s corpse, he
fainted and had to be revived.”
The
RCCG Public Relations Officer, Mrs. Olanike Olaomo, said she was in a
meeting of the church’s leadership and would get back to our
correspondent.
She said, “I am in a meeting now, I can’t pick your call. But will send an SMS.”
She had, however, yet to do so as of the time of filing this report
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