Evangelist hacked to death while preaching in Abuja

A 42-year-old mother of seven, Mrs. Eunice Elisha, was on Saturday morning murdered by unknown assailants while evangelizing around Gbazango-West area of Kubwa, a satellite town in the Federal Capital Territory.

Eunice, who was a Deaconess at the Divine Touch Parish of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Old NEPA Road, Phase 4, Kubwa, was said to have been cut in the neck and also stabbed in the stomach.

It was learnt that her killers left her in the pool of her blood with her Bible, megaphone, and cell phone.

Her remains were discovered by residents who alerted policemen who came to evacuate her to the police station where her husband went to identify her.

Speaking to newsmen at their residence, Eunice’ husband, Mr. Olawale Elisha, who is also a pastor at RCCG, said his wife had gone out to preach in the neighbourhood at about 5 am only for him to hear the report of her murder.

Olawale, who expressed shock over the death of his wife, looked pensive and dejected as he spoke.

He said, “My wife always goes out early in the morning for ‘Morning Cry’ (evangelism). There was a particular day she went out, and she told me that there is a mosque at the back where they commented about what she said. So I just cautioned her.

“This morning (Saturday), she went around 5 am and I was still in bed because we did vigil which she participated in for a while because of the ‘Morning Cry’ she planned to undertake. Two of my boys are footballers, so they went to the field to play. And when they came back, they told me that they heard some footballers saying that some hoodlums had butchered a woman who was preaching early this morning.

“So, when I heard this, we trekked down in the shorts I was putting on, and we didn’t see anybody, but we saw blood on the ground. I asked a policeman around, and he said it is true but that they had taken her to Phase 4 Police Station.

“I went to the station with my children, and when we got there, I saw the lifeless body of my wife at the back of the police van and from there, she was taken to the mortuary. The incident happened between 5 am and 5:30 am because she usually goes out 5 am and comes back 6 am.”

Elisha, who said Eunice was born on July 23, 1974, said they got married in July 2000.

“My wife was so committed to anything that is of God. She was a reckless giver to God’s work; she rarely missed any programs in the church. We have seven children,” he stated.

According to him, his wife had no quarrel with anyone that could have warranted her murder, describing her as a martyr.

“I see her as a martyr, and she died for Christ. And whether the people are caught or not, they should forgive them; my prayer is that if they can accept Christ, that will be a gain to Christ,” the bereaved cleric said.

A lawyer and friend of the Elishas, David Ude-Chukwu, described Eunice’ murder as hate crime brought about by religious insensitivity, noting that the constitution allows every Nigerian to practise his chosen religion.

A senior police officer at the Kubwa Divisional Police Station confirmed the incident but referred our correspondent to the Divisional Police Officer, who was not available in the office.

The FCT Police Public Relations Officer, Manzah Anjuguri, could not be reached for comment as he did not respond to calls to his phone. He had yet to reply a text message as of the time of filing this report.