Nigeria: Ondo prophetess arrested over mother, child’s death in church

A prophetess named Mrs. Folashade Adekola was detained by the Ondo State Police Command on Tuesday in connection with the death of Jumoke Adesuwa and her infant child within the church.

Inside the suspect’s church in the Oke-Aro neighborhood of Akure, the state capital, our correspondent learned on Tuesday that the dead died from hemorrhage during childbirth. It was also said that the infant passed away right away.

Additionally, once the deceased’s brother reported the incident to the police station, the men of the command detained the suspect.

The prophetess was detained and transported to the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department for additional investigation, according to Mrs. Funmilayo Odunlami, the state police public relations officer who verified the occurrence.

“The case was reported by the deceased’s brother, that the sister died after childbirth in the church and the prophetess is already in custody. Investigations are still ongoing,” the PPRO said.

According to a family source who talked to PUNCH Metro under the condition of anonymity because he was not allowed to speak to the media, the deceased’s husband received a call from a church representative informing him that his wife had given birth. Both of them hurried to the church when the deceased’s spouse contacted a relative.

“When we arrived, they informed us that the mother was alive but the baby had died after giving birth,” he added. When we first saw the deceased, she was bleeding heavily and in a pool of blood. We hurried her to a local hospital as a result.

“Due to her condition, she was rejected at three hospitals and she died in the process of reviving her in the last hospital that admitted her. To our surprise, we got to the church to collect the baby’s remains and found the corpse in a room. The condition of the room was very worrisome as it did not look like a delivery room.

“We approached the Oke-Aro Police Station in Akure to report the case which led to the arrest of the prophetess in charge. The remains of the woman have been deposited at the mortuary.”