The Ogun State Police Command has begun a manhunt for the suspected killer of the prophet from the Celestial Church of Christ’s Hebrew Parish, Yomi Adetula, who was shot dead during a church service in Idiroko, Ogun State.
A statement by the spokesperson for the state police command, Omolola Odutola, sighted by TheNigerian Online, stated that the pastor was shot dead on Sunday morning.
The PPRO for the command said the Divisional Police Officer of Idiroko received a distress call reporting the fatality at the Celestial Church along Old Baggage Road, Odo Eran, Idiroko.
Odutola stated that police officers rushed to the scene and found the 54-year-old prophet lying lifeless in a pool of blood.
According to her, the pastor’s white Celestial church garment was stained with crimson, and his body was riddled with bullets when detectives arrived at the scene.
Odutola added that despite the pastor’s visible wounds, preliminary inspection indicated that the assailants took further steps to ensure the victim’s demise by brutally hacking his head with an axe.
She noted that witnesses later told detectives that the suspect had entered the church, brandishing long double-barrelled shotguns.
In the confusion that followed the invasion, she said the assailants aimed at their target and fired, bringing the prophet to the ground.
Odutola disclosed that the attackers fled the scene and made their way towards the border area, evading capture.
She said, “When we received the report, police officers raced to the scene and saw the victim’s lifeless body in the pool of blood that stained his white garment lying face down up.
“On careful observation, his body was riddled with bullets, and his head was not spared. To ensure the victim was dead, it was mangled with an axe.”
The command said the body had been taken to the General Hospital Mortuary in Ilaro and normalcy had been returned to the area.
The command added, “Efforts are ongoing to track down the fleeing suspects who escaped the scene through the border area, as possible clues will be revealed in the coming days as investigations have been launched into the very sad occurrence.
A reliable source from the Social Orientation and Safety Corps in Ogun State confirmed to TheNigerian Metro that the victim was a senior officer within the corps.
The source further revealed that the officer was a key witness in an ongoing legal case involving a suspect in the state.
“He is one of our senior officers in Idiroko. He was a key witness in an ongoing litigation,” the source told our correspondent.
A similar incident occurred in 2023, as reported by TheNigerian Metro, when gunmen attacked the Redeemed Christian Church of God in Abule-Ori, Obafemi Owode Local Government Area of Ogun State.
The assailants killed the pastor and abducted seven worshippers during a night vigil service.
