Death in Akungba: C&S cleric found dead in hotel hours before Baba Aladura installation, police arrest three

A 71-year-old Cherubim and Seraphim Church leader, Elder Omotayo Ezekiel Fajana, was found dead in a hotel room in Akungba-Akoko hours before his scheduled installation as Head Prayer Warrior Father, Baba Aladura, of a church faction.

The Ondo State Police Command has arrested three suspects as it investigates circumstances surrounding his death.

Fajana had traveled to Akungba-Akoko, headquarters of Akoko South-West LGA, for a programme at Ogo Orimolade C&S Church along Okerigbo-Ikare Road where his installation was slated. Instead, the ceremony turned tragic when he was discovered lifeless in a hotel under “suspicious circumstances,” according to police.

—Body moved without medical confirmation—

The case was reported at Akungba Police Division by Olaseni Sunday Olaoluwa, said to be the cleric’s nephew.

Ondo Police spokesperson DSP Abayomi Jimoh confirmed the arrest and said preliminary investigations raised concerns about how the body was handled after death.

Detectives are probing 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 official confirmation of cause of death from a qualified doctor.

Police are also investigating reports that money exchanged hands to facilitate the swift transfer, 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,” Jimoh said.

—Probe ongoing—

Three suspects are currently assisting police with inquiries into events leading to and following the cleric’s death. The command has ordered a comprehensive investigation to establish the actual cause of death and determine if any criminal act was involved.

The incident has sparked reactions across religious circles and the Akoko community, given Fajana’s status and the significance of the installation that was abruptly halted.

Residents and church members now await autopsy results as questions swirl around the circumstances of his death and the unauthorized movement of his body.