A tragic incident occurred at the Celestial Church of Christ in Omitoto, Ile-Ife, Osun State, when an assistant priest, Lekan Ogundipe, murdered the presiding pastor, Morris Fadehan (64).
According to reports, tensions had been building between Ogundipe and Fadehan over behavioral issues.
The final straw was an altercation last week between Ogundipe and a prophetess known as Mummy Ewa, who accused him of spreading rumours about their relationship.
Ogundipe had reportedly assaulted the prophetess, prompting Fadehan to reprimand him and announce plans to dismiss him from his role.
On Monday evening, Ogundipe went to the home of the church’s owner, Pa Olafare, and reportedly claimed there was a fire burning Fadehan’s body at the church.
They rushed to the scene to find Fadehan’s lifeless body burnt and bloodied inside the sanctuary.
A source familiar with the incident narrated to THE WHISTLER: ”The presiding pastor, Fadehan was infuriated by the action of his assistant. He had several issues with Lekan (Ogundipe) before then because he has been reacting to issues with anger.
“The key of the church used to be in the custody of the assistant, but after the incident, Fadehan took the key from him and then promised to report to the church committee who would ratify his expulsion from the church. Lekan stabbed his boss repeatedly with a knife and inserted nails into his ears which caused him to bleed to death. After that, he used prayer perfume on the altar to burn him.”
The owner of the church, Pa Olafare while receiving delegates from the Celestial headquarters said, “The deceased had reported to me that he was to disengage Lekan (the suspect) as his assistant over many unlawful acts. Most recent of them include the assault on a prophetess in the church last Wednesday and I agreed with him, but he added that he will take the decision after consulting with the elders.
“But while I was about eating on Monday evening, the said Lekan came to the house and told me fire is burning on the deceased body and that he was lifeless on the floor, hence, I drove back with him and my wife to the church where we found the deceased partly burnt inside the church.
“We discovered blood stains on different parts of his body and cuts. When we asked Lekan about the blood stains, he attempted to run but we grabbed him and locked him in my car before calling in the police.
“We unwrapped the deceased pastor’s body and discovered that there were nails in his ear and several cuts on the head and neck before we took the body to the morgue at Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospital, Ile-Ife.
“Meanwhile, Lekan later confessed to the police that he perpetrated the crime because of a dispute with the deceased.”
Police investigation revealed that Ogundipe indeed stabbed Fadehan multiple times with a knife, hammered nails into his ears, and set his corpse on fire with prayer perfume. Ogundipe was said to have later confessed to the horrific murder.
Prophetess Ewa also confirmed she had warned Ogundipe about gossiping and Fadehan had also scolded him following the assault incident last week.
Police spokesperson, Yemisi Opalola, confirmed Ogundipe’s arrest and said Fadehan’s body had been taken to the morgue for autopsy.