Ogun Community in Shock as Shepherd Allegedly Kills Wife, Dies Hours Later

Residents of Ogooluwa community in Akiode Ibogun, Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, are struggling to come to terms with the deaths of a Celestial Church of Christ shepherd and his wife following an alleged domestic dispute.

The couple, identified as Bidemi Odukoya and his wife, were reportedly killed within hours of each other on Monday, August 31, in an incident that has left the community in mourning.

Odukoya, the shepherd of the Iri Orun Parish of the Celestial Church of Christ, allegedly attacked his wife with a machete during a midnight altercation at their residence around 2am.

He reportedly fled the community afterwards and headed towards Coker Junction in Ifo, along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, where he was alleged to have thrown himself in front of a moving truck.

Both husband and wife were buried beside their three-bedroom home on Monday evening.

The tragedy has shocked residents, who described the couple as friendly and respectful people who had lived in the community for about nine or 10 years without any widely known history of serious problems.

The Baale of the community, Chief Taiwo Akiode, said residents were devastated by the incident.

“This unfortunate incident is the first of its kind in this environment. It is a tragedy of monumental proportion that no one saw coming,” Akiode said.

The traditional ruler said he was alerted around 3am after residents informed him that the shepherd had allegedly killed his wife.

He said he initially struggled to believe the report until he visited the couple’s residence and saw the woman lying in a pool of blood.

“There was a wound that looked like a machete cut and there was also a stool which we also heard that the man smashed on his wife’s head,” he said.

Akiode said the police subsequently arrived at the scene and documented the incident, while Odukoya was nowhere to be found.

Around 7am, the community reportedly received information that Odukoya had died after being struck by a truck along the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway in Ifo.

According to Akiode, residents who went to confirm the report were told that Odukoya had allegedly been moving repeatedly across the expressway before sitting on the median and later running in front of an approaching truck.

The wife was buried around 5pm, while Odukoya’s remains were returned to the community later that evening and buried beside her.

The circumstances surrounding the couple’s relationship have, however, generated different accounts among residents.

Community youth leader Seun Adelana alleged that accusations of infidelity involving both partners had contributed to the marital crisis.

He said the husband had allegedly accused his wife of having a relationship with another man, while there were also claims that Odukoya was involved with another woman.

However, a neighbour, Oluwatoyin Oseni, said the couple had a history of domestic disputes and that police had previously intervened in their marital problems.

Oseni said she had recently helped care for the deceased woman after one of the couple’s alleged fights.

She also said the couple had reportedly stopped speaking to each other since June following repeated disagreements.

According to Oseni, the couple’s 14-year-old son, Daniel, alerted her around 2am after discovering that his father had attacked his mother.

She said she and another neighbour rushed to the house and found the woman dead.

“By the time myself and one other neighbour got to the residence of the couple, we discovered the lifeless body of Mummy Daniel with a broken head, all covered in blood, on the floor,” Oseni said.

She alleged that Odukoya was holding a cutlass when they arrived and told them that he was also “as good as gone”.

Oseni said she had previously advised the deceased woman to seek peace in the marriage, but the woman had told her that she could not leave her children, particularly her seven-year-old youngest child.

Another community leader, Chief Oluwasegun Adeboye, said residents only became aware of the extent of the couple’s marital problems after the tragedy.

He said residents heard that the couple had previously taken their dispute to court and had been advised to return home and attempt to resolve their differences amicably.

Adeboye said the couple were reportedly expected to return to court on Wednesday, but the tragedy occurred two days earlier.

Some residents also attributed the incident to spiritual factors, although there is no established evidence linking the deaths to such claims.

Chief Akiode urged couples experiencing serious marital disagreements to seek counselling and other forms of intervention before conflicts escalate.

“We should also not wait for things to degenerate if we are having challenges with our marriage. We should seek help and counselling before things get out of hand,” he said.

The Ogun State Police Command confirmed that it was investigating the incident.

The Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Opeyemi Oluborode, said the case file was being transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for further investigation.

“The command is very much aware of the case. The case file is currently being transferred to the SCID for diligent investigation into knowing the actual facts surrounding the sad incidents,” Oluborode said.