Pastor arrested for pulling gun out on church accountant in Benue

A pastor was apprehended yesterday with the firearm by men ofthe Benue
State Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARS, in Katsina-Ala where he
allegedly tried to kill the accountant of the church, Mr. Philip
Toryila, during a heated arguement over money.


According to a source,"the incident occurred on Tuesday evening when
the pastor ordered the church accountant to handover church monies to
him for execution of a project and he refused.


"The refusal of the accountant angered the pastor who engaged him in a
fracas and in the process pulled out a gun on the accountant.


"In the process, the accountant shouted for help which attracted the
attention of another church official who alerted the police and they
quickly drafted some armed men of the squad to the place and arrested
the pastor."


The source added that "the accountant sustained a major facial injury
and other parts of his body and was quickly rushed to a private
hospital in Katsina-Ala where is now receiving treatment."

Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Deputy Suprintendent of Police
DanielEzeala, while confirming the story said: "The arrested pastor
was brought to the state command and he will soon be charged to court
for illegal possession of firearms but we are still conducting
investigations into the matter."