Edited and compiled by
The Polytechnic Ile-Ife, Osun State
Osogbo, Nigeria — A Magistrate Court in Osogbo has ordered the remand of a 42-year-old man, Wale Ogunsanmi, for allegedly murdering Bishop Shina Olaribigbe, founder of Rapture Empowerment International Church.
Ogunsanmi was arraigned by the Osun State Police Command’s Criminal Investigation Department (CID) on a single charge of murder. The charge sheet, marked MoS/19c/2025 and signed by B. Adaraloye, the head of the legal/prosecution unit, detailed that the crime took place on January 1, 2025, at about 8:55 p.m. in the Fan Milk area of Ajegunle, Osogbo.
The charge stated that Ogunsanmi unlawfully stabbed Olaribigbe to death, an offence punishable under Section 319 of the Criminal Code, Cap 33, Volume 1, Laws of Osun State, 2002. Due to lack of jurisdiction, the court did not take the defendant’s plea.
Presiding Magistrate A. O. Odeleye ordered Ogunsanmi’s remand at the Ilesa Correctional Centre and adjourned the case for further proceedings.
Reports indicate that the attack stemmed from marital disputes involving Ogunsanmi’s estranged wife, an interpreter at the deceased bishop’s church. Ogunsanmi allegedly attacked the bishop after discovering him in the company of his wife, whom he had been separated from for a year.
According to Yemisi Opalola, spokesperson for the Osun State Police Command, “The bishop was in the woman’s residence when her husband arrived and stabbed him multiple times.” Police believe the suspect acted out of suspicion of an affair between his wife and the bishop.
The deceased’s body has been deposited at the UNIOSUN Teaching Hospital Mortuary, Osogbo, for an autopsy. Police arrested Ogunsanmi at the scene, recovering the weapon used in the attack.
Investigations are ongoing as the court awaits the next hearing in the case.
By Taiwo Olatinwo| January 24, 2025