Following the burning of a church in Akure, the Ondo State capital on Wednesday, the state Governor, Mr Rotimi Akeredolu, has appealed to all stakeholders to be calm, saying the incident will be investigated.
A church, the Sotitobire Praising Chapel, in the Oshinle area of Akure was set ablaze by some youths in protest against the alleged abduction of a one-year-old boy, Gold Kolawole, in the church during a Sunday service in November.
During the violence, no fewer than three people lost their lives, including a policeman, whose identity has not been revealed. Houses, vehicles and other properties belonging to the church were also burnt.
Akeredolu, in a statement issued on Friday by his Chief Press Secretary, Mr Segun Ajiboye, described the disappearance of the boy as sad and unfortunate.
He said thorough investigation would be conducted into the matter, noting that he had been briefed about the missing child and that necessary action would be taken by the relevant security agencies.
The statement read in part, “The loss of the child in a church, no doubt, remains heart-aching and represents a sad commentary. However, it is pertinent to state that the enormity of the incident could not have permitted a hasty rush to make public statements, especially when investigations had already commenced and daily briefs by the commissioner of police were received by the governor.”
He urged those affected to be calm while efforts were ongoing to get to the root of the matter.
Meanwhile, the Deji of Akureland, Oba Aladelusi Aladetoyinbo, has denied a report that he collected a huge sum of money to influence the release of the pastor of the burnt church, Alfa Babatunde.
According to a statement issued by the Chief Press Secretary to the monarch, Mr Michael Adeyeye, Oba Aladetoyinbo said he never intervened in the investigation on the matter
He said, “It is on record that the parents of the missing child had protested to the Deji’s palace on Tuesday, 12th November, 2019 seeking the intervention of the monarch.
“Undoubtedly, the Deji quickly intervened and constantly followed up on the case to ensure that justice is served by inviting the general overseer of the church, the parents of the child and the teachers at the children section. The Deji equally urged security agencies to carry out a thorough and discreet investigation to unravel the mystery surrounding the disappearance of the child and bring perpetrators to book.”’
The monarch expressed his readiness to support any move that would help to find the missing child, unravel the mystery and bring any person or group of persons involved to book. Agency report
