Anglican Bishop shot dead after retrieving Church money from bank in Ondo

The bursar of the Akure Diocese of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Mr. Gabriel Kola Abiodun has been reportedly shot dead by suspected armed robbers

It was gathered that the deceased was shot dead at the diocesan office at Alagbaka, Akure, the Ondo State capital this morning shortly after returning from bank with the money meant for the church.

According to an eyewitness, the suspected robbers, who were three in number, trailed the deceased from the bank to his office, where they collected the money, shot him and ran away.

The eyewitness said, “We saw three men in an ash Toyota Corolla car following him; initially, we thought they were police or DSS operatives, but we later discovered who they were when they brought out guns. Two of the men followed the bursar into his office and the other stayed outside.

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“We did not know what transpired between them inside the office, but all we know is that he was shot inside the office and the hoodlums went away with the money.

“We rushed him to hospital but he did not survive the gunshot injuries and died before getting to hospital. The late Abiodun had been working with us for the past eight years.”

It was gathered that the amount stolen from the deceased was over N500,000 and was meant to address some issues in the church.

Meanwhile, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Femi Joseph, said investigation would commence into the incident.

“I also want to use this opportunity to advise our people that anybody who wants to withdraw huge amount of money from the bank should always involve the police so as to prevent this kind of incident,” he said.

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