By Editor
The founder of the Mount of Solution Redeemed Church (MSRC), Apostle Elisha Asuquo and the Pastor in charge of the church, Aniekan Ibanga, have been shot dead by gunmen, in Ikot Ekang, a community in Abak Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom state.
The tragic incident occurred when the gunmen stormed the National Headquarters of the Church at about 7:30pm at the weekend, disrupting an ongoing Parish meeting.
The unidentified gunmen reportedly fled through the Abak-Ikot Ekpene Federal Highway after committing the crime.
It was gathered the late Apostle Asuquo hailed from Adiasim in Essien Udim Local Government Area, while Pastor Aniekan Ibanga, was a native of Ikot Obioikpa village, Afaha Obong Clan, in Abak LGA.
A community leader in Ikot Ekang, Bishop John Jeremiah Kpongkpong, in an interview with Leadership, described the killing of the two clerics as shocking, noting that such an ugly incident had never happened in the community before.
According to him, Apostle Asuquo was handling a crucial and heated marital reconciliation matter between a lady and her estranged husband before the sad incident.
He said, “It was around 8 p.m., I was attending a church programme when somebody called and asked me whether I had heard that Prophet Elisha and his Pastor had been shot dead. While still on that call, another person came in and told me that Prophet Elisha and Pastor Aniekan had been killed.
“I had to close from the church and rush to the palace of the Village Head to inform him of what had happened. After informing the Village Head, he instructed me to call the Police, which I did.
“On getting to the Church premises, I saw many people gathering while Policemen from Abak Division were performing their duty.”
Also speaking on the incident, the Youth President of Ikot Obio Ikpa Village, Alphonsus Alphonsus Okoro, described the killing of their son as painful and a great loss.
He further called on the two villages to cooperate and investigate the matter to bring the culprits to book, to which the Youth President of Ikot Ekang village, Godwin Adahada, agreed.
Confirming the incident, the spokesperson for the state police command, CSP Odiko MacDon, said the Commissioner of Police, CP Waheed Ayirara, had ordered a manhunt for the suspects.
He assured that the ongoing discreet investigations would culminate in the arrest and subsequent prosecution of the culprits
