LAGOS – A pastor serving in the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), identified as Thompson Onyekuru, met his untimely death at the weekend while trying to separate a woman from the fierce grip of her husband.
It was reliably gathered that the husband and wife, living at Umuokoto town in Umudibia Autonomous Community in Owerri West Local Government Area of Imo State, were engaged in bitter arguments which resulted in the man using a knife to stab his wife.
The man, identified as Obum, who hailed from Obowo in Imo State, was suspected to be mentally unstable and had allegedly locked his wife and her baby in their room where he stabbed her severely.
According to a witness, the incident started around 4 pm when Obum’s wife, Ogechi, and her one-year-old son were heard screaming for help, thereby prompting the RCCG Pastor Onyekuru and others to wade in to prevent Obum from killing his wife.
“As the crowd intensified effort to rescue the woman, Obum with a knife, threatened to kill anyone who tried to stop his action,” one of the witnesses said.
After successfully rescuing the woman from her husband’s grip, it was gathered that Obum became enraged and started chasing everybody with the blood-stained knife. But as Onyekuru made his way to go, Obum used the knife to stab him at the back.
A passing police patrol team was called to the scene, but he attacked the policemen who were attempting to arrest him. So the law enforcement agents had no choice but to shoot him in the leg in order to subdue him.
Both couple and Onyekuru were subsequently taken to the hospital where the three of them died. While the pastor died immediately after reaching the hospital, Obum and his wife died later.
The President-General of Umuokoto Community Council (UCC), Hon. Charles Anozie who confirmed the incident said Obum and the pastor were taken to the hospital where they later died.
Efforts to speak with the Police Public Relations Officer in the state command, Mike Abatam, a Chief Superintendent of Police as at the time of filing this report proved abortive as his phone number was not going.
