Assassins kill, dismember CCC prophet inside Ogun church

Tragedy struck yesterday when gunmen, suspected to be hired assassins, shot and killed the Shepherd-in-charge of a Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) in the Idiroko border town of Ipokia Local Government Area of Ogun State on Sunday morning.

The deceased, identified as Yomi Adetula, was shot dead inside his church around 11 a.m. while preaching.

Eyewitness accounts confirmed that Adetula’s assailants, each wielding an AK-47 gun and numbering about six, were all clad in the same Celestial Church garment. They stormed the Hebrew Celestial Church, located at the Odo Eran area of the Old Baggage Road in Idiroko, where they rained bullets on him. After ensuring he was dead, they dismembered his body inside the church before leaving the scene.

It was gathered that the deceased was the Idiroko Unit Commander of the Ogun State Community, Social Orientation, and Safety Corps (So-SAFE Corps), a community security outfit established and funded by the Ogun State government.

While the motive behind the act could not be confirmed, it was gathered that Adetula had been in a running battle against a smuggling cartel in Idiroko Border town, which led to his relocation to Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), in December 2024.

Sources within his church in Idiroko said that this conflict led to the forced closure of his church, Hebrew Celestial Church, in December 2024 by suspected smugglers with whom he allegedly had issues.

The State Commander of the So-SAFE Corps, Soji Ganzalo, confirmed the incident and expressed shock, stating that he could hardly believe the news.

Ganzalo assured that the So-SAFE Corps would not relent until the matter was properly investigated and promised to assist the relevant security agencies with any information that could lead to the arrest of the suspects.

The spokesperson of the Ogun State Police Command, Omolola Odutola, also confirmed the incident.

She noted that police officers quickly arrived at the scene and discovered Yomi Adetula, a 54-year-old man, lying face up in a pool of blood, with his white Celestial garment stained.

Upon closer inspection, his body was found to be riddled with bullets, and his head had been severely damaged by an axe, confirming that he was indeed dead.