A suspected member of a church, on Friday, hacked his pastor, Greg Sagie, to death with a machete in his house in Sapele, Delta State.
The pastor, said to be in his 60s, was reportedly taking his siesta when the assailant walked into his house and attacked the cleric.
The children of the pastor, aged eight and eleven, were said to have fled the one-storey building screaming for help when the assailant invaded the residence.
A neighbour, who said he helped to take Pastor Sagie to the morgue after he breathed his last, noted that there were few residential houses there.
He said they heard the children screaming that someone had invaded their home and hurting their father with a machete.
“On hearing the screams, we ran out and saw the attacker leaving the house. He was a young man. He threatened to kill us if we tried to stop him or accost him.
“He then jumped down from the building and ran away,” one Nneka narrated.
Another source also said that the children knew the attacker from their church.
“The children said he was one of them and that they knew him. They even described where he lived,” the source said.
Pastor Sagie had wounds on his head and did not make it to the hospital alive.
“He stopped breathing on the way to the hospital where his car broke down,” another neighbor identified as Isaac said.
As of the time journalists got to the scene, Police had reportedly cordoned off the area as well as taking briefs from neighbours.
Meanwhile, the Delta State Police Spokesman, DSP Bright Edafe, hasn’t reacted to the incident, as his line couldn’t be reached.
It was, however, gathered that the Police were on the trail of the suspected murderer.
Some members of the church described the deceased as a good and faithful man of God who taught them peace and love.
They expressed shock at the manner with which the amiable cleric was silenced.
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