An evangelist of a Celestial Church of Christ in Ogun state, Abidemi Odukoya, and his wife, Adenike, have reportedly died in separate circumstances, following an alleged domestic altercation at their residence in the Akinode/Ibogun community area of the state.
Reports explained that the incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, August 25, after the couple allegedly engaged in a domestic dispute that escalated into a physical confrontation.
The altercation reportedly left Adenike unconscious and injured, while her husband allegedly fled the residence.
Reacting to the incident, a former Chairman of the Community Development Association, Adejimi Olawumi, said in a video shared by Arole TV on Wednesday that he was alerted by residents’ cries for help and subsequently found the woman lying in a pool of blood.
Olawumi said members of the CDA subsequently noticed that Odukoya was missing and began searching for him.
According to him, they later learnt that the cleric had been hit by a vehicle in the Ifo area of the state.
Meanwhile, the late evangelist’s younger sister, who in a video circulating online, claimed that the couple had been involved in repeated disagreements before their deaths, said they had visited her around April following an earlier altercation, noting that the matter was eventually resolved at a police station.
She said, “I have been hearing that they have been fighting for a while now. Around April, they came to my house. He explained everything about how he and his wife fought, and that it was at the police station they settled it.
“I only told them to be patient with each other because it is not right for a husband and wife to fight against each other. They had been fighting for a very long time, and people helped them settle it. And now we just heard that the husband and wife are dead.”
The woman said the family was informed of the incident after one of the siblings received a phone call, adding that arrangements were subsequently made for the remains of the deceased.
The wife was reportedly buried on the day of the incident, while Odukoya was buried on Wednesday, September 2.
A separate footage on Wednesday, showed some clerics performing burial rites over the remains of the evangelist at an undisclosed location.
The circumstances surrounding the deaths, however, remained unclear as of the time of filing this report.
When contacted on Wednesday, the deputy spokesman for the state police command, Opeyemi Oluborode, confirmed the incident, stating that the investigation into the incident has begun in earnest.
