Pastor in charge of the Celestial Church of Christ, Grace of Comfort Parish, Omitoto, in Osun State, Moris Fadehan, has been m*rdered by one Lekan Ogundipe inside his church.
Reports say the suspect k!lled Fadehan after the keys to the church were retrieved from him for assaulting a prophetess over undisclosed differences last week Wednesday.
PUNCH quotes a source as saying that Ogundipe attacked the pastor on Monday while he was praying in the church and thereafter alerted the founder of the church that fire was burning the pastor.
However, upon arrival at the scene, the founder of the church observed the blood on Fadehan’s dress, and the suspect was tricked until the arrival of the police.
The church founder, whose name was not mentioned, called the police, and the suspect was arrested.
The source said, “Assault on the prophetess occurred last week Wednesday. The prophetess was in the church, and Lekan (Ogundipe) came around and met her. They had a disagreement. Lekan eventually assaulted the woman. He bit her and that got the shepherd angry.
“Because of the way he acted, the pastor retrieved church keys from him. This last Sunday, there was a crisis in the church that almost disrupted the service. Lekan’s matter was also part of the issues that caused the crisis.
“But on Monday, when the pastor arrived at the church, he was praying at the feet of the altar when someone pounced on him and attempted to cover his face with clothes. That led to a tussle. Pastor struggled to push the attacker away and in the process, he got to know it was Lekan that attacked him.
“While that was on, Lekan reportedly picked up a screwdriver and hit it against the pastor on the face, k!lling him on the spot. To cover his track, he dragged the body towards the generator, poured petrol on him and set him ablaze. Unfortunately for him, he didn’t cover his track well.
“After k!lling the man, he ran to the residence of the founder of the church and told him that fire was burning the pastor in the church. He also raised the alarm in the neighborhood that fire had k!lled the pastor inside the church.
!But one of the those that arrived at the scene early observed blood on Ogundipe’s dress. The man also observed a mark of violence around his neck region. The man and the founder then tricked the suspect and kept him in a vehicle and when the police operatives arrived, they handed him over to them.”
Confirming the incident on Tuesday, the Osun Police Command Public Relations Officer, Yemisi Opalola, said the command has commenced investigation into the matter.
She said, “At about 10:15 am on Monday, one Moris Fadehan aged 65 years of Grace of Comfort Oke Odo, Omitoto, Ile-Ife, was killed by one Lekan, who is also a member of the church. Upon arrival, his body was found in a pool of blood. Marks of violence were also discovered on the body of the deceased.
“The suspect was arrested at the scene of the crime. Remains of the deceased were deposited at the OAUTHC morgue for autopsy.”