Jerry Hinjari: 2 Months After Killing Of Young Adamawa Pastor, Police Yet To Apprehend Killers

The Adamawa State Police Command said it is making efforts to apprehend the killers of late Apostle Jerry Hinjari, the 24-year-old president of Christ Nation International church in Yola, who died on 24th January 2023 after gunmen kidnapped him from his residence.

Speaking with THE WHISTLER, the Command’s spokesman, Suleiman Yahaya Nguroje, said some arrests were made recently and investigations are still ongoing.

“We have 9 suspects on ground: 4 were arrested along Army Barracks Road at a village called Malkohi under Yola South Local Government.

“Then they (the police) extended the investigation and apprehended 3 in Ngurore in a very large cattle market still in Yola South Local Government. The remaining were equally apprehended in Mayo Belwa.

“Our men acted upon intelligence and as I’m talking to you, they are still trying to find out if they have a hand in the death of the Apostle, but we don’t want to preempt investigation.”

Nguroje explained that the Command is yet to ascertain who the killers were among the suspects arrested, because the suspects did not confess to that.

“But investigation is ongoing, they (police) are trying to probe the suspects at hand. By doing so, they may be able to establish one or two things that at least has to do with the death of the apostle,” he highlighted.

Responding to questions about the Late Apostle’s Security man who was arrested on the night of the kidnap and still in police custody, the Spokesman said: “He is undergoing departmental actions.”

Francis Ishaku, one of the late Apostle’s brother who witnessed the abduction, narrated to THE WHISTLER how everything happened that night.

He said he and his brother lived in their flat at Barracks Road, New layout, Jimeta – Adamawa, and 3 of them (the Apostle, Jesh – his photographer and Ishaku), were in the house when around 2:30 am, some men invaded their home in the middle of the night, and rained terror on them.

“All of a sudden we heard someone trying to pull a gun and trying to push the door. After about 10 minutes, we heard them hitting the door (a metal door) with their legs.

“The Apostle asked us to switch off the light, that probably armed robbers have come to attack us. He and Jesh ran into his room, then I ran into the store to hide. But from there I felt scared, because I peeped and saw 3 herdsmen wearing this turban they used to tie on their heads, moving around. They went through the back door.”

According to Ishaku, he went into his brother’s room and met them praying and he joined. He said he advised the late Hinjari to call the soldiers at the military checkpoint near their house but the Apostle did not answer him.

“Meanwhile, Jesh was peeping through the keyhole on the door, then he shouted that they had come in! The Apostle told us to run into the toilet, while he opened the door to meet them.”

Ishaku said he overheard the men interrogating his brother in Hausa, asking if he was the owner of the house and even threatened to kill him when he asked what they wanted.

“After about 30 seconds, one of them asked the apostle again; ‘where is your phone?’ and the Apostle replied that he was charging it, and that was the last thing I heard him say.

“After like 3 minutes, we heard gunshots into the air outside. And I think from that time, they left. I and Jesh waited in the toilet for like 1-hour 15 minutes before I opened the door and came outside with Jesh following behind me.

“I saw blood on the ground, then I ran back into the toilet. Our security’s wife came into the toilet calling my name, I wanted to answer, thinking whoever the kidnappers were, had left. But Jesh signaled me to keep quiet. Then she left.

Ishaku explained further that when he later came out of the toilet, he noticed bloodstains on the hand of the chair, wall, and even on the ground close to the fridge in the dining room.

“No sign of anyone being dragged on the floor. The store too was scattered. They were trying to break into the house and have been hitting the door and broke a lot of glasses, and even the burglary was damaged,” he said.

He added that his brother’s purse was also seen on the ground and everything was scattered around.

“I picked it up, went to the parlour and noticed that they didn’t go with my small Nokia phone, and the other Samsung phone that was charging. They didn’t carry my laptop either. I packed everything into his bag and asked for the gate to be opened for me to drive out,” he said.

Ishaku said in the morning, he and Dan (the Apostle’s friend) reported the case at the Karewa Police Division, then the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) followed them home to examine the crime scene.

Ishaku said: “After this incident, the police and CID have been asking me about everything. We were at the headquarters; they took the gateman’s statement before they told us to go. The gateman was in custody and we went to my brother’s friend’s place to stay. The DPO had my number and called in the evening to say that they had found the Apostle’s corpse. He didn’t give me all the details, he only said, ‘sorry we have found his corpse, just take heart. We were also told to come and take the corpse to the mortuary.”

Earlier, a police source told THE WHISTLER that the corpse of late Apostle Hinjari was found “some few kilometers away from the house, close to the riverine area, the place usually used to be a flooding area.”

The Adamawa Police Spokesman had also confirmed to THE WHISTLER that the incident occurred in the night.

“Initially, it was a report of kidnapping. There and then our rapid squad was deployed by the commissioner of police. The following morning another rescue operation was raised to possibly rescue him at our own end.”

Nguroje said while the operation was ongoing, they discovered Jerry Hinjari’s corpse about 24 hours after his kidnap.

“Now, two things were raised: Anti-Kidnapping Unit, and Anti-homicide unit. They are now working together to employ all technological means, and all operational assets of the command, with the assurance of the commissioner of police that the perpetrators who committed such a heinous crime must be detected, traced, and possibly apprehended.

“On the other aspect, the command equally decided to place a very huge amount, a financial benefit to whosoever will volunteer useful information that will lead to the apprehension of these suspected criminals.”

Meanwhile, regarding the security man in custody, Nguroje said, whenever an investigation is ongoing, police can invite anybody for questioning, especially if anyone is believed to have committed any offence.