A tipoff by a tricycle rider has led to the arrest of two ministers of the Freedom Chapel International who were alleged to have killed a woman in the church and dumped her remains in a refuse site in Kubwa, a suburb of Abuja. In this report, NICHOLAS KALU and GRACE OBIKE record the mood of the solemn community, which has continued to attract negative headlines.
Last month, residents of Kubwa, a suburb of Abuja, woke up to a horrific incident that occurred in their neighbourhood. Two Ministers of the Freedom Chapel International located on No 1 Freedom Close around the Bazangu area of Kubwa, one Bishop Amadi and his son, Apostle Kelechi Amadi, were arrested by the police for allegedly killing and cutting up a lady simply identified as Anita. The gory incident occurred on June 20, 2022.
The dismembered body was put in a sack and dumped under the PW Bridge within the same Kubwa, about a kilometre away from where the church is located. It was reported that the mutilated body was dumped alongside the dismembered bodies of a goat and a dog, also in sacks. The bridge serves as a refuse dump for residents of the area.
The Federal Capital Territory police command had arrested the father and son a few hours after a tricycle rider revealed that he conveyed the son from the church to the bridge where the sack concealing the body was disposed of. The ill-fated woman, suspected to be a girlfriend of Kelechi, was believed to have been killed in the church.
A tricycle operator, it was learnt, had discovered blood on his machine after he retired for the day. He did not give it much thought, but when he passed by the bridge the following day and saw a crowd there after which the body had been discovered, he recalled it was from the same bag the man he carried the previous day from the church. He then informed the police after connecting the dots that this must have been responsible for the blood he saw on his machine.
Though both agreed being behind the mutilated body, it was gathered they both denied they actually carried out the killing. The father, it was learnt, said it was the son that killed the young woman, while the son denied this saying it was the father and he only disposed of the remains.
Apostle Amadi and his son, Kelechi, it was gathered, lived at the location of the second branch of the church in Bwari and only went to the church in Kubwa whenever they had activities they needed to attend to there. Many residents could not tell much about the father as he always only came straight to the church and left without much interaction with the community. However, the son, who is married, was described as a simple, friendly and easy-going person by members of the community. “Looking at him one would not even believe that he could even think of such a thing, not to talk of doing it,” a resident said.
It was also gathered that the son may have served in the armed forces at some point, because the residents said he was always putting on military camouflage. They said most of his friends who came to visit him, when they would always hang out in the neighbourhood, also wore military uniforms, which led to the strong suspicion that he may have served.
“I know the Kelechi Amadi very well; I believe he is in the armed forces. He is a security personnel but I think that he might have been dismissed from the force or something. He usually wears military uniform. He used to visit a bar in the neighbourhood with his friends who are also in the force to drink. They all wear camouflage uniforms. People say that he is in the military or is in the Special Forces but might have been dismissed or on suspension,” a resident who begged not to be named disclosed.
It was also gathered that membership of the church had greatly grown in the past nine to ten months following the performance of miracles. The source, a young man, continued, “I started staying here about two years ago and the church was already existing then but they had very few members but in the last nine to ten months, their membership have doubled, they now perform miracles in the church and now it is filled with members and on Sundays, the whole area will be packed with big cars from their members till the main road.
“The church has always looked unpainted but a few months ago they started painting the wall and decorating it better inside but it had remained the same outside. But since the incident, members no longer go to the church because it is sealed and a lot of their members that stay around this area now deny the church. They now all say they are not members.
“The church has been closed since the incident. For me personally, it has discouraged me from going to church. Instead of me now going to church I would rather stay in my house and pray, God will answer me. Because this happened in the church and nobody knows the truth if the father is aware or took part in the killing alongside his son, but the fact that the killing occurred in the church, we will assume all their family members are part of it. This might not even be the first time, only God knows.”
Another resident, a woman, who also begged for anonymity, recalled that the son got married in the church about four years ago in an elaborate wedding. She said, “He got married to his wife about four years ago. It was an awesome wedding that was well attended by many. Now people just pass and look at the building, without saying anything. Since the church was sealed off, services have not been held in the church.”
The Bazangu community in Kubwa Abuja has remained in a state of disbelief since the incident occurred. When The Nation visited the location of the church, there was a solemn atmosphere around the vicinity. The earth road, where the church is located, seemed desolate. Residents could not believe such a thing had happened right by them. “I have only seen such in movies. Seeing it happening close by is fearful. The people here now live in a state of fear,” a resident who gave her name as Gloria said.
The church, as the residents confirmed, had been closed since the incident. It was observed that there was a yellow police tape that cordoned off the building. It was however noticed that the tape had been cut around the gate. The church building itself was an un-plastered one-storey structure encircled with a fence that had the graffiti of the name of the church on it.
When contacted, the FCT Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Josephine Adeh, said the matter was still under investigation. She said she could not give more information so the investigation would not be compromised. “We would communicate with you when we are done investigating,” she said.