A sacked Edo pastor plants explosive in church

THE Edo State Police Command on Tuesday arrested a 57-year -old pastor , Abel Eku, for allegedly attempting to blow up the headquarters of the Christ Chosen Church of God in Benin with explosive devices .
Eku was said to have planted the explosives inside the church auditorium on January 22, 2017, prior to the commencement of its international conference .
His plot was reportedly foiled when the objects were detected, leading to his arrest by some policemen.
The suspect , who was paraded on Tuesday, blamed the act on what he described as bitterness over his dismissal from the church due to marital issues after 25 years of service .
Pastor Abel said he did it out of annoyance but later regretted his action, which made him to call the church officials about the location of the bomb .
Abel also said the bomb was not meant to kill anyone but to cause a scare among church members and elders .
The 57-year – old man, stressed , “ It was out of annoyance that I planted the bomb . I was dismissed from the church after serving for 25 years. After planting the bomb , I was not happy with myself.
“ I had a change of heart and called the people to tell them about it. It was to scare people . I had to call people to check and detonate it.
“ I had marital issues with my wife . We came to the church to resolve it and it was not resolved . It led to my dismissal . I was very bitter about the dismissal . I do not have the intention of killing people . ”