The cleric was found dead in the hotel hours before his installment as Chief of the Prayer Warriors

Police are currently working hard to unravel the mystery behind the sudden death of an elder of the Church of the Cherubim and Seraphim (C&S), Elder Omotayo Ezekiel Fajana, 71, who was found dead in a hotel room just hours before his inauguration as the Head Pastor of the Prayer Warriors (Baba Aladura) of a faction of the church.

Three people have reportedly been arrested as authorities try to uncover the cause of the cleric’s death in Akungba-Akoko in Ondo State.

Fajana was said to have traveled to Akungba-Akoko, the headquarters of Akoko South West Local Government Area, for a church program at the Ogo Orimolade C&S Church along Okerigbo-Ikare Road, where he was scheduled to be installed as Chief Baba Aladura of a church faction.

But the incident took a tragic turn when the revered church elder was reportedly found dead in a hotel under circumstances deemed suspicious by police.

The case was reported to the Akungba Police Division by Olaseni Sunday Olaoluwa who is said to be the nephew of the deceased.

Confirming the development, Ondo State Police Command spokesperson, DSP Abayomi Jimoh, said initial investigations had raised concerns about the handling of the body of the deceased after his death.

According to him, investigators are investigating allegations that some church officials and hotel staff moved Fajana’s body from the hotel to the mortuary in Ikare-Akoko without first obtaining a medical certificate or official confirmation of the cause of death from a qualified doctor.

Police are also investigating reports that there may have been an exchange of money to facilitate the transfer of bodies to the morgue, while church activities reportedly continued despite the incident.