Shock has gripped the Akinode/Ibogun community in Ogun State following the deaths of a Celestial Church evangelist, Abidemi Odukoya, and his wife, Adenike, who died separately within a week after a reported fight at their home.
The incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, August 25.
Residents said the couple got into a serious argument that turned violent. During the clash, Adenike was badly hurt and fell unconscious. Her husband was said to have left the house afterward.
A former chairman of the Community Development Association, Adejimi Olawumi, told community members he was alerted around 1am by shouts from neighbors.
“When I came out, one of the children, Daniel, said it was his parents,” Olawumi said in a video circulating online. “We entered the house and found the wife in a pool of blood. We could not get a vehicle to rush her to hospital on time.”
According to him, Daniel said he was in another room and did not see what happened. As residents gathered, they realized the husband was nowhere to be found and began searching for him.
Later that day, information spread that Abidemi had been hit by a vehicle in Ifo. Police took him to hospital, where he was confirmed dead. Members of the CDA said they helped bring his body back to the community. He was laid to rest on Wednesday, September 2.
Adenike was buried on Monday, the same day of the incident.
In a separate video, the evangelist’s younger sister said the couple had a history of disputes. She recalled that in April they visited her after another fight, and the issue was later resolved at a police station.
“I advised them to be patient with each other,” she said. “Couples should not fight this way. People had helped them settle before. Now we are hearing both are gone.”
Footage also showed church leaders conducting burial rites for the evangelist at an undisclosed location.
The exact details surrounding the two deaths are still not clear.
The Deputy Spokesperson of the Ogun State Police Command, Opeyemi Oluborode, confirmed the case on Wednesday, adding that an investigation is underway.
Neighbors described the couple as people who had minor disagreements in the past, but said nothing of this scale had ever happened in the area.
Police say they are working to determine the full circumstances that led to the deaths.
Source: Punch Newspaper
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