A pastor, Samuel Alade-Emin, has been remanded by the Ondo State Chief Magistrates’ Court in Akure, the state capital, for his alleged involvement in the death of a church member’s son, Olasupo Abiona.
According to The PUNCH, Abiona was reported missing as his whereabout was unknown for seven days sometime in August 2022.
He was later discovered in the pastor’s custody in Alagbado village, in the state’s Odigbo Local Government Area.
It was also revealed that Abiona died in an unnamed hospital after the defendant allegedly gave him a poisonous substance to consume.
The pastor was subsequently detained by the police and charged with murder and deprivation of liberty on two counts.
The police prosecutor, Nelson Akintimehin, informed the court that the defendant unlawfully detained Abiona, who was the son of one of the elders in the church, against his will.
According to him, the defendant allegedly administered a poisonous substance to the deceased, causing him to vomit blood and die.
According to Akintimehin, the offenses committed violated Sections 365 and 316(5) of the Ondo State Criminal Law of 2006.
Akintimehin asked the court to keep the defendant in the correctional facility pending the outcome of the state Director of Public Prosecutions’ advice.
The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the offence but his plea was not taken.
The counsel to the defendant, A. Motunrayo, prayed the court to grant her client bail in the most liberal terms, insisting that he was innocent.
In his ruling, the Chief Magistrate, Musa Al-Yunus, ordered the remand of the defendant at the correctional centre pending the advice from the state Director of Public Prosecutions.
He adjourned the case till February 9, 2023.