Solomon Ehinoma assassinated at church in Edo State
….wife, children and church members witnessed the murder
……Wife says gunmen used machete too.
…..As gunmen carted away with the victim’s mobile phone and ATM card.
Unknown gunmen have invaded a church in a boundary between Amagba and Evbukhu near Benin City and assassinated a popular community leader.
Solomon Ehinoma, popularly known as Ehis, was murdered in the presence of his wife, two children, and church members on Sunday morning, 9 July 2023, shortly after he closed from Service.
The incident caused pandemonium as people scampered for safety. Ehinoma was a businessman and the Chief Security Officer (CSO) of the Oke-oroma Community near Benin City, Edo State.
Victim, Solomon Ehinoma killed in the church in the presence of his wife and two children in Amagba.
Victim, Solomon Ehinoma killed in the church in the presence of his wife and two children in Amagba.
In an interview with The Standard Gazette correspondent, the wife, Mrs Osareniye Solomon, described the deal that turned him into a widow.
According to Osareniye, the gunmen laid an ambush for Ehinoma in the church compound, and he was murdered immediately after the Service.
She said, It was around 11 am, and we rounded off our church service. The pastor then announced that there would be a meeting for the men and women in the church.
“My husband, however, told me he was leaving, and he then went outside from the church, and I asked my daughter to follow him to get something from him for me.
I instantly heard a gunshot from outside, and my daughter ran back inside the church while my husband also tried to run back. Before he knew it, I saw many boys surrounding my husband’s car. They were more than ten people.
Everybody from inside the church ran for their lives. They were shooting without control, and even some church members were hit by stray bullets.
Mrs Osareniye added that her husband was “shot in front of the church”, and “they also used a machete on him,” she said.
The gunmen did not only kill him, but they also carted away his mobile phone and ATM card before fleeing the scene.
“When they finished killing him, they took his phone and ATM and fled. Three days before my husband’s death, he showed me a text message on his phone he received from a particular number that he and two others have been marked for death before the end of this year,” Osareniye told TSG.
The Edo State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, confirmed the incident.
He said, “Edo State Commissioner of Police, CP Mohammed Dankwara, has ordered an extensive investigation into the incident.
“I want to appeal to anybody with useful information to contact the police as such information will be confidential to assist in arresting and prosecuting the perpetrators of such heinous crime.”
©Standard Gazette,
