A Celestial Church of Christ evangelist, Abidemi Odukoya, and his wife, Adenike, have died under separate circumstances in Akinode/Ibogun community, Ogun State, days after an alleged domestic fight at their home.
It was gathered that the incident occurred in the early hours of Monday, August 25, following a disagreement between the couple that reportedly turned physical.
A former Chairman of the Community Development Association, Adejimi Olawumi, said residents raised an alarm around 1am and he found Adenike lying in a pool of blood.
“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. Then I went to call my neighbours to come out,” Olawumi said in a video shared by Arole TV on Wednesday.
“Immediately, we got inside the house and saw the wife in a pool of blood. At that time, there were no vehicles to take her to the hospital.”
He said the couple’s son told them he did not witness what happened because he was in another room. The CDA members later discovered that Odukoya had left the house.
According to Olawumi, the evangelist was later hit by a vehicle in Ifo area of the state.
“Later, we heard that Mr Abidemi had been hit by a car in Ifo. The police took him to the hospital, and we confirmed that he was the one. The CDA then started working on how to bring his remains home,” he said.
“We have never heard or seen something like this happen before. We only know that they fight sometimes and settle it among themselves.”
Adenike was reportedly buried on the day of the incident, while Odukoya was laid to rest on Wednesday, September 2. In a video seen by PUNCH Metro, some clerics performed burial rites for the evangelist at an undisclosed location.
The evangelist’s younger sister, in another video circulating online, said the couple had a history of quarrels. She recalled that they visited her in April after a previous fight that was settled 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.
“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.”
The family said they were notified of the incident after a phone call, and arrangements were made for the burials.
The Ogun State Police Command confirmed the incident. Its Deputy Spokesperson, Opeyemi Oluborode, said an investigation is ongoing.
“The police is investigating the incident,” he said.
The exact circumstances leading to both deaths remain unclear as of press time.