Police arrested Pastor over looted N1.2b medical equipment

TopNaija.ng can confirm that A pastor in Kogi State, identified as Sunday Edino, and his alleged accomplices have been arrested by the Kogi State Police Command for allegedly looting medical equipment worth N1.2billion.

This is as the sporadic shooting by masked hoodlums in Lokoja on Monday, 26th October 2020 has led to the death of no fewer than five persons, while several others sustained injuries and are currently receiving treatment at the hospital.

The suspected pastor was arrested on Monday in a manhunt led by the Kogi State Commissioner of Police, Ayuba Ede.

TopNaija learnt that suspected criminals vandalized a warehouse in Lokoja and looted the medical equipment with his car before he was apprehended by the Nigerian Police in the State.

When he was under interrogation, the suspect could not account for the medical equipment found in his car which he packaged inside his booth, and others which he hid inside a nearby bush.

Meanwhile, residents of Lokoja, the Kogi State capital have continued to lament the invasion of the town by suspected hoodlums who shot at innocent citizens and destroyed properties belonging to both government and private individuals.

TopNaija gathered that some residents of Lokoja were hit by a stray bullet, while as at yesterday night, unconfirmed reports revealed that no fewer than five persons have lost their lives after sustaining degrees of injuries in different locations, where the hoodlums perpetuated their heinous crimes.

One Nda Ara, a shoemaker shot alongside two other victims in Lokongoma Market, was unlucky as he did not survive the bullet.

A friend of Nda Ara, identified as Umar Dan’Assabe Mohammed, said on Monday morning that those that killed him must be brought to book.

Also, a resident of the state capital who never wanted his name to be mentioned sent a text message to our correspondent in Lokoja which reads “Good evening. Could you believe that a member of my church was shot today and bled to death during the sporadic shooting? We are about starting the requiem mass now in our church. I am psychologically and emotionally down. May God take vengeance for all of these”.

Another casualty recorded in Monday’s brutality from the masked hoodlums is the Kogi State correspondent of the Sun Newspaper, Emmanuel Adeyemi who was hit by a stray bullet.

Adeyemi was about entering the press center of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) when he was hit by live bullets fired by the masked thugs. He is currently on admission to a private hospital.

A reporter who had been monitoring the health condition of Mr. Adeyemi gathered that he had a successful surgery at about 8:30 PM Monday.

In a reaction, the Police public relations officer, William Aya, said those who shot the journalist could be the looters who were scaring people to enable them to perpetrate their nefarious acts.

He said that the shootings were not from the Police officers, adding that they were being trailed and would be brought to book shortly.