C&S Elder found dead in Ondo hotel hours before installation, three arrested
By Dayo Johnson Akure
Residents of Akungba-Akoko in Ondo State have been thrown into shock following the sudden death of a prominent elder of the Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S) Church, Elder Omotayo Ezekiel Fajana, 71, whose lifeless body was discovered in a hotel room just hours before his installation as Head Prayer Warrior Father (Baba Aladura) of a church faction.
The incident has sparked a police investigation, with three persons already arrested as authorities seek to unravel the circumstances surrounding the cleric’s death.
Fajana had travelled to Akungba-Akoko, the headquarters of Akoko South-West Local Government Area, for a church programme at Ogo Orimolade C&S Church along Okerigbo-Ikare Road, where he was scheduled to be installed as the Head Baba Aladura of a faction of the church.
The event, however, turned tragic when the respected church elder was reportedly found dead in a hotel under circumstances police consider suspicious.
The case was reported at the Akungba Police Division by Olaseni Sunday Olaoluwa, said to be a nephew of the deceased.
Confirming the development, the spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, said preliminary investigations had raised concerns about the handling of the deceased’s body after his death.
According to him, detectives are investigating allegations that some church officials and hotel staff moved Fajana’s remains from the hotel to a mortuary in Ikare-Akoko without first obtaining a medical certificate or an official confirmation of the cause of death from a qualified doctor.
Police are also probing reports that money may have exchanged hands to facilitate the swift transfer of the body to the mortuary, while church activities reportedly continued despite the incident.
The development has heightened public interest, with investigators working to determine whether the actions taken were intended to conceal evidence or merely amounted to a breach of standard procedures.
Three suspects are currently assisting police with investigations into events leading to and following the cleric’s death.
The police have ordered a comprehensive investigation to establish the actual cause of death and determine whether any criminal act was involved.
The incident has generated reactions within religious circles and across the Akoko community, given Fajana’s status and the significance of the installation ceremony that was abruptly halted.
Residents and church members are awaiting the outcome of the investigation as questions continue to surround the circumstances of his death and the alleged movement of his body before proper documentation was completed.