The Bayelsa State Police Command has arrested a 59-year-old pastor, Elijah Oro, over an alleged plot to assassinate a rival cleric following a bitter dispute over church membership and property.
The suspect, described by police as a self-styled “man of God”, was arrested alongside a 21-year-old suspected cultist, Samuel Daniel, said to be a member of the notorious Greenlanders cult group.
Police sources said the two pastors had been locked in a long-running rivalry centred on the control of church members and assets, a disagreement that allegedly escalated into a plot to eliminate one of them.
Luck, however, ran out on the suspects when operatives of the police Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) unit swooped on the scene. The suspected cultist was reportedly arrested at the premises of the targeted pastor, where he was allegedly waiting to carry out the attack.
During interrogation, the suspect allegedly confessed to the plot and named Pastor Oro as the person who hired and sponsored him to execute the attack.
Confirming the arrest, the Police Public Relations Officer in the State, DSP Musa Mohammed, said both suspects are currently in custody while investigations continue.
“The suspects have been arrested and are presently being held for further investigation,” Mohammed said, adding that the command would ensure a thorough probe into the matter.
The police assured the public that anyone found culpable would be prosecuted in accordance with the law, while urging residents to report suspicious activities to security agencies.
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