One Killed As Traditional Worshippers Clash With Lagos Church During Vigil

The Nigeria Police Force, Lagos State Command says it has arrested a Pastor and nine church members for allegedly killing a traditional worshipper in the state.

Truetells Nigeria reports that the pastor is identified as 50-year-old Mercy Okoch, founder of the Truth and The Spirit Prophetic Church.

The victim identified as a 25-year-old traditional worshipper, Agboola Akeem, according to a police source, was allegedly stoned to death by the church worshippers during a clash on Tuesday, August 23, at about 6:30pm.

The Lagos State Command spokesman, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, who confirmed the incident in a Twitter post on Wednesday, described the unfortunate incident as a clear case of murder.

Hundeyin said, “Oro worshippers clashed with church members holding a vigil. It sadly resulted in the death of one person. It’s clearly a murder case. Suspects have been arrested. But henceforth, how do we ensure religious tolerance in similar cases?”

Although, he did not provide further information, a police source said the arrest was carried by operatives of the Oko Oba Police Division.

According to the source, “officers attached to the Oko Oba Police Division received a distress call that the church located at Number 2, Sanni Taiwo Lawal Street, in Oko Oba, was about to be set ablaze. The officers immediately stormed the church premises.

“Preliminary investigation showed that the traditional worshippers were celebrating their Oro festival while the church members were having a church service. The traditional worshippers allegedly invaded the church premises and asked the church members to discontinue their service.

“Oro Festival is an annual traditional festival only celebrated by male descendants who are paternal natives to the specific locations where the particular event is taking place.

“During the festival, females, and non-natives are mandated to stay indoors as oral history has it that Orò must not be seen by women and non-participating people. Unfortunately, during the confrontation, a shouting match ensued between the traditional worshippers and the church members and this degenerated into a fight. In the process, one of the traditional worshippers was stoned to death. This caused a rage among the other traditional worshippers who vowed to burn down the church.

“The police were able to quell the tension and evacuated the body of the deceased and deposited it in the morgue. The pastor and nine members of the church are now in police custody,” the police source said.