OGUN, Nigeria — A Celestial Church of Christ evangelist, Abidemi Odukoya, and his wife, Adenike, have died in separate circumstances following an alleged domestic fight at their home in the Akinode/Ibogun community of Ogun State.

The deaths occurred within hours of an alleged confrontation between the couple in the early hours of Monday, August 25, leaving residents and relatives searching for answers.

According to a report by the Punch Newspaper, Adenike was reportedly found unconscious and badly injured inside the couple’s home after neighbours were alerted by cries for help. Her husband was said to have left the residence before he was later reportedly struck by a vehicle in the Ifo area of the state.

The unusual sequence of events is now being investigated by the Ogun State Police Command.

A former Chairman of the Community Development Association, Adejimi Olawumi, said residents were alerted at about 1am by shouts of “thief, thief.”

Olawumi said he went to the house and found Adenike lying in a pool of blood.

The community leader said the couple’s son told residents that he had been in another room and did not witness the confrontation between his parents.

With no vehicle immediately available to take the injured woman to hospital, residents reportedly began mobilising help.

But when members of the CDA later discovered that Odukoya was missing, they launched a search for him.

According to Olawumi, the community later received information that Odukoya had been hit by a vehicle in Ifo.

He said police officers took the cleric to a hospital, where members of the community subsequently confirmed his identity.

“We have never heard or seen something like this happen before,” Olawumi said, adding that residents were aware the couple sometimes quarrelled but had previously settled their disagreements.

The account has not been independently established by the police.

The evangelist’s younger sister also alleged that the couple had been involved in repeated domestic disagreements.

She said the pair had visited her around April following an earlier altercation and that the matter was eventually resolved at a police station.

According to her, she urged the couple to be patient with each other and avoid fighting.

The sister said the family was informed of the latest incident after one of the siblings received a telephone call.

The Ogun State Police Command has confirmed the incident but has not publicly disclosed the circumstances surrounding the couple’s deaths.

The command’s Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, Opeyemi Oluborode, said simply: “The police is investigating the incident.”

The investigation is expected to establish what happened inside the couple’s residence, the circumstances of Adenike’s injuries and death, and how Odukoya came to be struck by a vehicle in Ifo.

It is also unclear whether the two deaths were directly connected or whether other factors were involved.

No conclusion has been announced by the police on possible criminal responsibility.

Adenike was reportedly buried on the day of the incident, while Odukoya was buried on Wednesday, September 2.

Footage circulating after the incident showed clerics conducting burial rites over the evangelist’s remains at an undisclosed location.

The deaths have shocked residents of Akinode/Ibogun, particularly because of the unusual circumstances and the short interval between the incidents.

For now, the police investigation remains the key to determining exactly what happened in the hours before the couple died.

The case also highlights the potentially fatal consequences of unresolved domestic conflicts and the importance of seeking timely intervention when marital disputes become recurrent or turn violent.

However, the accounts surrounding the deaths remain allegations, and the police investigation has yet to establish a definitive sequence of events or assign responsibility