Lord’s Chosen Pastor Shot Dead in Lagos (Photo)

Unknown gunmen, Monday, shot dead Lagos State
Coordinator of The Lord’s Chosen Charis-matic Revival
Ministries, Pastor Chukwuemeka Okpokpo, at Apple
Junction, Amuwo Odofin area of the state.
The gunmen, said to have used a motorcycle,
reportedly trailed the deceased from a Diamond Bank
branch, where he had gone to withdraw N3 million for
the church. They reportedly fired shots into the air,
which sent other road users and passers-by
scampering for safety.
Reports said Pastor Okpokpo tried to escape when it
became obvious that he was the target.
He reportedly slowed down on reaching a bad spot in
the road, and the hoodlums shot at the tyres of
the Chosen vehicle he was driving, bringing the vehicle
to an abrupt halt.
One of the gunmen then alighted from their motorbike,
walked to the vehicle and shot Pastor Okpokpo in the
stomach. He was said to have waited to ensure that
Okpokpo was no longer breathing before he took the
nylon bag containing the money, went back to his two
colleagues in the motorbike and they zoomed off.
Fear-stricken residents were said to have rushed to the
scene and raised alarm on discovering that the victim
was wearing the Lord’s Chosen reflective jacket. Some
of them were said to have alerted members of the
church, who rushed him to the church’s clinic at
Ijesha.
When news of the tragedy filtered in, those who knew
him wept uncontrollably, dispelling the report as
rumour, while some said he was still in Ogun State,
where he had gone to organise a crusade.
Resurrection prayers
Vanguard reports that a prayer session aimed at
resurrecting him reportedly held between 12.30p.m.
and 8p.m. Some of the church members were,
however, of the view that the gunmen could have been
hired assassins and not robbers.
Meanwhile, Lagos State Police Command said it had
begun investigation into the killing. The command said
it was too early to say if it was a case of robbery or
assassination.
A police source, who spoke on condition of anonymity,
told Vanguard:
“We are leaving all avenues open in our
investigation.”
Church members thronged Okpokpo’s Iju home to
commiserate with his family. The family members
hinted that Okpokpo’s body had been taken to his
home town in Amizi, Ikwuano Local Government Area of
Umuahia of Abia State.