Police warn churches over testimonies after foiled kidnap plot

Police have urged worshippers to exercise caution when sharing personal achievements during church testimonies after foiling an alleged plot to kidnap a female cleric in Abuja. Four church members were arrested over the alleged plan to abduct Prophetess Elizabeth, who police said was targeted after giving a testimony about her achievements.

Deputy Commissioner of Police Adamu Muazu, who heads the Intelligence Response Team, said the suspects allegedly planned to carry out the abduction after an evening service. Speaking while presenting the suspects to journalists, Muazu warned worshippers against assuming that everyone attending a religious gathering had good intentions.

“You can’t go to a church located on outskirts and you go to evening prayers and closing in the evening, coming down to your home after making testimony of what you have achieved in life, you know?” he said. “It doesn’t conform with common sense and rationality in the midst of a gathering of people watching you, thinking that they are all men of God. No, everybody has his own motive of going to the church.”

Muazu urged church leaders, particularly those with premises in isolated areas, to assess security risks and take precautions to protect members attending late services. “If church has to be located on outskirts, I believe the runners of those institutions must equally think of the security of their members and must advise them adequately,” he said.

He also called for closer attention to access routes and church entrances and exits. “If you must hold evening services, that has to be guided with a lot of security observation of the routes in and out, exits of those churches in and out,” he added. Muazu said some of the suspects had close connections to the intended victim and the church leadership.

“Surprisingly, this happened to be her driver, who worked with her. And the second suspect is a bodyguard to the head church pastor. They are all members of the same church,” he said. Police cautioned that people with criminal intentions could exploit information disclosed during religious gatherings, particularly when worshippers travelled home after evening services.