The Abia State Police Command, on Thursday, confirmed the death of a married female evangelist, identified as Happiness Echieze, in an Aba hotel during a sex session with the General Overseer of her church last Saturday.
She was said to have been married to a man who worked outside the state, in Bayelsa, but might have been allegedly dating her General Overseer for long to satisfy her sexual urge.
The Police Public Relations Officer for the Command, Chinaka Maureen, in a statement, said, “On the 13th of August, 2023, at approximately 09:30 AM, Mr. Godwin Akpan (male), residing at Jubilee Guest House in Ovom village, Obingwa LGA, reported to the Isiala Ngwa Police Division that an incident had occurred.
“It was revealed that on the evening of the 12th of August, 2023, around 09:25 PM, a clergyman named Timothy Otu (male), associated with Agape Evangelical Ministry at Obikabia Junction in Obingwa LGA, had checked into the guest house along with a woman named Happiness Echieze (female) from Isialangwa LGA, Abia State. Happiness Echieze was 43 years of age.
“Further details provided by Mr. Akpan indicate that on the same date, around 12:00am, he entered the hotel room of the aforementioned clergyman and discovered the lifeless body of Happiness Echieze. She was found unclothed, and a white substance was emanating from her mouth and nose. Regrettably, the clergyman was absent from the scene.
“We hereby inform the public that immediate preliminary investigations have been launched into this matter. The deceased’s body has been transported from the location and is currently at the SDA Mortuary in Aba, awaiting an autopsy examination.
“Additionally, we wish to convey that the suspected individual, in this case, has been apprehended and the case has been transferred to the State CID for discreet investigations.”
The deceased, according to sources, told her children that she was going for a “Tarry Night” church service that usually would have ended by about 12:30am the next Sunday.
Those familiar with the story said, the accused Bishop, who had lodged in with her, looking disturbed, surfaced at the hotel’s front desk, and told those on the night shift that he was going to buy food at that time of the night.
“The hotel workers promptly reported the observation to the manager who went to the room to know what happened, only to see the lifeless naked body of the evangelist on the hotel bed,” a source said.
The manager of the hotel, who suspected foul play, was said to have reported the incident to the Eastern Ngwa Police Station in Obingwa Local Government Area around 1am on Sunday.
The woman was found lying naked with foam coming out of her mouth and nose when police arrived at the scene, according to reports, while a search through her phone revealed that the duo had been in a romantic relationship for some time.
The bishop, relatively known in Aba, was subsequently arrested at his Church at Obikabia Junction while preaching that Sunday morning and is said to be currently detained at the Eastern Ngwa Police Station Obingwa.
The deceased was a native of Umuatakawom in Obingwa.
