ALLEGED DOMESTIC VIOLENCE: OGUN PASTOR, WIFE FOUND DEAD

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By:Tajudeen Aminat

A Celestial Church of Christ evangelist, Abidemi Odukoya, and his wife, Adenike, have reportedly died in separate circumstances following an alleged domestic dispute at their residence in the Akinode/Ibogun community of Ogun State.

The incident reportedly occurred in the early hours of Monday, August 25, after the couple allegedly engaged in a domestic altercation that escalated into a physical confrontation.

The wife was said to have sustained injuries and lost consciousness, while her husband reportedly left the residence following the incident.

A former Chairman of the Community Development Association, Adejimi Olawumi, said he was alerted by residents’ cries for help and later found Adenike lying in a pool of blood.

Speaking in a video shared by Arole TV on Wednesday, Olawumi said residents initially struggled to find a vehicle to transport the injured woman to the hospital.

“It was around 1am when I heard my neighbours shouting, ‘thief, thief.’ On my way out, I saw Daniel. I asked him what happened, and he said it was his mum and dad,” he said.

Olawumi said community members later noticed that Odukoya was missing and began searching for him.

He said the community subsequently received information that the cleric had been hit by a vehicle in the Ifo area of the state.

According to him, the police took Odukoya to a hospital, where the community later confirmed his identity.

“We have never heard or seen something like this happen before. We only know that they fight sometimes and settle it among themselves,” Olawumi said.

Meanwhile, the late evangelist’s younger sister, in a video circulating online, claimed that the couple had experienced repeated disagreements before their deaths.

She alleged that the couple had visited her around April following an earlier altercation, which she said was eventually resolved at a police station.

“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,” she said.

She said she advised the couple to be patient with each other and avoid fighting, adding that members of the family and community had previously intervened in their disagreements.

The woman said the family was later informed of the latest incident after one of the siblings received a phone call, after which arrangements were made concerning the remains of the deceased.

Adenike was reportedly buried on the day of the incident, while Odukoya was buried on Wednesday, September 2.

Separate footage circulating online showed clerics performing burial rites over the remains of the evangelist at an undisclosed location.

However, the exact circumstances surrounding the deaths remained unclear as of the time of filing this report.

When contacted on Wednesday, the Deputy Spokesperson for the Ogun State Police Command, Opeyemi Oluborode, confirmed the incident.

“The police is investigating the incident,” he said.