A cleric, Omoloju-Eledumare Emmanuel, who was a colleague and friend of Shina Olaribigbe, a bishop and leader of Rapture Empowerment International in Osogbo, Osun State, has demanded for justice over the gruesome killing of Olaribigbe by a jealous church member.
The Osun State Police Command had arrested a 43-year-old man, Wale Ogunsanmi, for allegedly stabbing Olaribigbe to death after he saw the man of God with his estranged wife together in her room.
The incident occurred on January 1, 2025, at about 11:25 p.m., at the residence of Ogunsanmi’s estranged wife, where he reportedly found the bishop.
Ogunsanmi’s wife is an interpreter at the deceased’s church.
Yemisi Opalola, the command’s spokesperson, had confirmed the arrest and disclosed that the bishop was at the woman’s house when the husband arrived.
“The husband stabbed him several times, and he died. It is believed the husband acted on suspicion that the pastor was having an affair with his wife,” she said.
According to the police, Ogunsanmi and his wife had been living apart for about a year due to marital disputes.
Reports indicate that the bishop had been mediating their conflicts before the separation.
The suspect allegedly broke into his wife’s residence and attacked the clergyman, who was reportedly in the bedroom at the time of the altercation.
Police officers from the Dugbe Division responded promptly, arrested Ogunsanmi at the scene, and recovered the weapon.
The deceased’s body was deposited at the UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital Mortuary for autopsy.
Meanwhile, while dismissing speculation that Olaribigbe was having an affair with the woman, Emmanuel, a prophet in Osogbo, asked the police to ensure that justice is seen to have been done in the matter.
“Prophet Bishop Shina died on the war front. I want to inform the whole world that in the pictures we got, we were informed that it was a lie that Bishop Shina was on top of another man’s wife. Adebowale Ogunsanmi was a church member of Pastor Mrs. Bunmi, an estranged wife of the bishop and he (Ogunsanmi) has a wife and two children. He met another woman, a church member and divorced his first wife. Before then, the bishop’s wife had warned him against marrying the woman because they will not bear children, adding that polygamy is not allowed in the church.
“The bishop also spoke with Ogunsanmi not to marry Tosin Mustapha, an Iseyin indigene. Tosin and Ogunsanmi refused. They later took themselves to a registry to have a secret wedding. But, in order not to lose the two members, Bishop Olaribigbe attended the wedding. After the wedding, the couple returned to the church and started waging war against Evangelist Bunmi Olaribigbe. Ogunsanmi who killed the bishop, ensured that he separated the bishop and his wife, the evangelist.
“CAN tried making peace between the bishop and wife but it was not successful. The bishop later married another member of the church named Adeniran Nike three years after his wife left him.
“When Tosin Mustapha did not conceive after years of marrying Ogunsanmi, she remembered the prophecy of Evangelist Bunmi and the couple started having issues. Later, Tosin got separated from Ogunsanmi. After about two years they separated, the bishop started talking to them in order to reunite them. After December 31, 2024 crossover service in the church, Bishop Olaribigbe discovered that Tosin Mustapha was not feeling fine. So, the next day, January 1, 2025, he told his wife that he would be visiting her to see how she is faring.
“He got to the area, parked his motor beside the road, climbed upstairs and entered into a room apartment where Tosin Mustapha stayed. Not long after he sat down, Ogunsanmi stormed the place and used leg to break the door. He was said to have brought out a knife and started stabbing the bishop who was sitting down. He was wearing his clothes and shoes which further indicated that he was not in any compromising condition with the woman. Bishop Olaribigbe deserves justice,” Emmanuel said.
Emmanuel expressed displeasure against the leadership of the Christian Association of Nigeria in Osun State and Conference of Bishops that Olaribigbe belonged to, for allegedly refusing to stand for the deceased after he was killed.
He said the groups ought not to have relied on rumour that the cleric was having an affair with another man’s wife, rather, they should have carried out an independent probe to ascertain the truth.
