The Police in Lagos, yesterday, explained that the Celestial Church of Christ, Overcomers Parish, Ajah, Lagos, its shepherd, Aso James, and other church members are not being prosecuted for the death of Dogo, because the autopsy carried out on his body did not suggest ritual killing.

Dogo, an Hausa labourer, was said to have in June 2023, fallen into a soakaway pit he was employed by the church to evacuate at its Overcomers Parish, Oke Ira Nla, Ajah, Lagos.

His death drew the ire of his Hausa kinsmen in the area, who accused the church of ritual killing and promptly mobilised others to attack the Senior Shepherd of the church, Venerable Superior Evangelist Aso James, and other church members they could lay their hands on.

A viral video showed the naked and battered body of the Senior Shepherd.

The Celestial Church of Christ, Overcomers Parish, was painted as having killed Dogo for ritual purposes.

The name and image of the Celestial Church of Christ Worldwide was terribly battered.

The church rose to the unpleasant development, working with the Police to ensure that the arsonists were apprehended and prosecuted.

The church ensured that an autopsy was carried out on Dogo?s corpse and a Police report issued by State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Panti, showed that Dogo died from injuries sustained when he tripped and fell into the soakaway, hitting his head on hard concrete.

The Police report confirmed the same.

Both documents confirmed that Dogo?s body parts were intact.

The Celestial Church of Christ was absolved of the allegation of ritual killing!

Speaking to newsmen on the issue in his Ikeja office yesterday, spokesperson for the command, CSP Benjamin Hundeyin, said only those found culpable were taken to court.

The suspects include Badmus Bisiriyu and Seyi Afolabi.

According to him, the suspects charged to court were found guilty of arson, setting fire to the church, assault, attacking the shepherd and stealing.

?The shepherd was not taken to court for anything. He wasn?t found guilty of anything. The autopsy did not indict him of anything.

?I?ll leave it at that. If the autopsy had indicted him, he definitely would have gone to court. The reason I?m not talking specifically about the autopsy is because it?s written in medical jargon, which I cannot really interpret.

?But the interpretation we got from our own medical officers at least confirms that the shepherd or any other person at that is not culpable as it reads closed craniocerebral injury,? he said.

On the recent death of 28-year-old Lagos State University (LASU) graduate, Adedamola Ogunbode, and the sealing of the Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) Oluwa Parish in Ojo over the alleged killing, he said the police are on top of the situation.

According to Hundeyin, the Yaba Magistrate?s Court remanded the suspects in a custodial facility after the police approached the court for an extension of their remand warrants to enable them to tidy up the investigation.

He affirmed that the autopsy report on the deceased will be released soon.

The command?s spokesperson stressed that the police have identified the deceased?s brother, Ademola Juwon Taiwo, as a suspect in the matter and are hunting for his arrest.

Hundeyin stressed that the shepherd was arrested because the money that was taken out of the deceased?s account found its way into the shepherd?s account.

?Every account the money entered has a case to answer. So some might want to argue that the money did not go from the deceased?s account into the shepherd?s account.

?But immediately it left the deceased?s account, it found its way into the pastor?s account. So it?s still the same money we are tracing,? he added. (Text, excluding headline: The Guardian)

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