I planted explosives in church because I was dismissed, says Edo pastor

A pastor, Abel Eku, has told the police in Edo State that he planted explosives at the headquarters of his church, Christ Chosen Church of God, Benin City.

The pastor said he planted the explosives because he was sad about his dismissal from the church over marital issues after serving the church for about 25 years.

Speaking when he was paraded at the headquarters of the Edo State Police Command, Eku said he planted the explosives inside the auditorium of the church headquarters on January 22, a day the church was to hold an international conference. The explosives were, however, detected by policemen who defused them.

Pastor Eku said he carried the act out of annoyance but later changed his mind and called officials of the church about the location of the explosives.

He said the explosives were not meant to kill but to scare his church members and elders.

He said, “After planting the explosives, I was not happy with myself. I had a change of heart and called the people about it.

“It was to scare people. I had to call people to check and defuse them.

“I am 57 years old. I had marital issues with my wife. We came to the church to resolve them and they were not resolved.

“It led to my dismissal. I was very bitter about the dismissal.

“I don’t have the intention of killing people. What I did is very bad.”