Two Men Who Murdered Popular Benue Catholic Priest To Die By Hanging

By Josephine Ella-Ejeh

It is now pay back time for one  Suleiman Goma and Haruna Idi who were found guilty of the recent murder of the popular Catholic Priest, Reverend Father Alexandra Adeyi  as a Makurdi High Court has sentenced them to  death by hanging. 

Until his death, Fr. Adeyi, was the  Vical-General of Otukpo Catholic Diocese.

The convicts of Orokam in Ogbadibo Local Government Area of Benue had conspired with one Saidu Abdullahi and Aliyu Garba now at large and kidnapped the late Reverend Father at Otukpo on April 26, 2016 after which they murdered him in cold blood when the Church failed to provide the complete sum of money they demanded as ransom.

The police had revealed the kidnappers demanded N2 million  but the Church paid N1.5 instead.

While delivering  the judgment on Wednesday,  Justice Aondover Kakaan  said that the prosecution, which called eight witnesses, has proved its case beyond all reasonable doubts.

Father Adeyi

The trial judge held that evidence before him showed that the convicts committed the crimes, adding, three guns and charms were recovered from the convicts at the time and place of arrest in the forest.

Kakaan also held that  in his statement tendered in court, the first convict, Goma admitted that he bought the guns for the purpose of armed robbery and kidnapping

The prosecutor, Mr Simon Iough, in the suit filed by the Inspector-General of Police, told the court that the convicts took the former Vical-General of Otukpo Catholic Diocese to Okumgaga forest in Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue where they demanded for a ransom of N2 million.

According to him, though the sum of N1.5 million was paid as a ransom, the convicts and Abdullahi and Garba(now at large), still killed the clergyman and dumped his corpse in the forest.

However, the convicts who testified and called no witness, denied the allegation.