Two teenagers, 17 Year old Kasali Jamiu and 15 Years old Farouk Muhammad, arrested in connection with the killing of Pastor Babatunde Dada of the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Festac Town area of Lagos State have been singing in police net on how and why they killed their victim.
Recall we reported of the RCCG Pastor, Pastor Babtunde Dada who was killed in the church premises in Festac Town earlier last month.
The teenage suspects were paraded before the media by the State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem Odumosu, on Friday.
Odumosu, recently elevated to the post of an Assistant Inspector General of Police, said the suspects were arrested in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, and Lagos State.
The police boss said after killing Dada, the suspects ran away to evade arrest but through “technology and intelligence we were able to smoke them out from their hiding place.
According to Jamiu: “We went to the Pastor under the pretence of lack accommodation to assist us and we were given where to sleep in the church pending when they would get us a better place.”
He said his co-suspect had left his hometown in Ilorin for Lagos after telling a lie to his parents that he was going for a show.
Jamiu added: “But what we intended to do didn’t work out.
“That was why we went to the Pastor to seek for accommodation and food.
“One fateful day, the Pastor came to Church in the morning and gave us money and left, but few hours later, he walked in with a bag containing money, but because Farouk’s mother had called him to come back home that she’s sick and he needed to go home with money, we suddenly had a rethink on how to get money.
“We followed the Pastor upstairs and hit him with plank and bottle on the neck and escaped with the money.
“It was because Farouk lied to his mother that he was coming to Lagos for a show and we didn’t got any show to play and he needed money to go back home to Ilorin in Kwara State.
“He had already promised his mother that the show he was coming for in Lagos he would make N200,000 from it.
“We believe we are going to get a show where to play because we are in December already where a lot of activities used to take place.
“Our plan changed on how to get money when we now saw the Pastor with the bag containing money that was why we followed him and killed him.”
Muhammad said they didn’t plan to kill the Pastor, but because he needed money take care of his sick mother back home, that was why they both took the decision within few minutes and accomplished it.
He said: “We have started music for about three years now, but when things were not forthcoming, I had the intention of going into robbery to steal so that we could blow in the music industry.
“My stage name is Zealight, while Jamiu own is J Frosh.
“I stopped school at Senior Secondary School for music.”
Giving details of how the crime was committed, Odumosu said the suspects on December 2, 2021 at about 12 noon at Avenue Festac Town stabbed the 46-year-old pastor in the church.
He said: “Following discreet investigation, the culprits were arrested in their criminal hideout.
“While Farouk was arrested in Ilorin, Kwara State, Jamiu was arrested in Festac area.
“The suspects confessed to have used bottle and stick to kill the victim.
“The exhibits used to commit the act were also recovered.
“Every parent should warn their children of the company of friends they keep.”