A Pastor of the Celestial Church of Christ, Pastor Ejiro Ologonla, is in the net of the police over the disappearance of a 29-year-old, Olatunfe Anthony Oluwafemi.
According to available information, the deceased was not only last seen with the Pastor, the man of God, who is said to be from Delta State but based in Lagos, sold his phone for N1,500.
The journey of Ologonla to police cell was said to have begun on December 12, 2019 at about 10:30am when police received a complaint that on December 12, 2019 at about 2pm, Oluwafemi of 27, Owode Street, Alapere Ketu, Lagos State, who was sent on an errand to Ilupeju, had not returned and his whereabouts remained unknown.
All efforts made by his family members to trace him were unsuccessful.
The Itel phone of the missing person was electronically analyzed by Police forensic experts, leading to the arrest of the user of the phone, 23-year-old Monsurat Gbadegeshin.
In her statement, Gbadegesin said her fiancé, Abiodun Abiola, gave her the phone.
That led the operatives to apprehend the said Abiola, 30.
During questioning, he said one Tolu Olurotimi, 20, sold the phone to him.
Rotimi, in turn, said he bought the phone from 45-year-old Pastor Ologonla.
During questioning, Olagonla said he was at Oniru Beach in Lagos for spiritual cleansing on that fateful day when he met the missing Oluwafemi.
He stated that while he was at the beach, the missing person, who appeared drunk, came in and started chasing people around.
At a point, he saw him climbing a fisherman’s boat.
Later, he said he saw the missing person pulling his clothes, shoes, dropped his phones and jumped into the sea.
He claimed that he informed the security men on guard duty at the beach and also called a Police Officer as well as one Princess Arike Oniru on phone to intimate them of the incident.
He said he finally picked up the victim’s clothes, shoes and phone and sold the phone to Olurotimi for N1,500.
The Oniru beach security guards, the fishermen, Princess Oniru and other witnesses mentioned were invited for questioning.
The fisherman stated that on that fateful day, the missing person came to the beach behaving as if he was drunk, adding that as he paddled the canoe to the sea, he was alerted that the man was hanging on the canoe.
He said he brought him back and promised to give him fish.
But when he came back the following day, he did not see the man again.
The Princess confirmed that the Pastor called her to inform her that somebody jumped into the sea and she advised him to report the incident to the nearest Police Station.
The security guards on duty at the beach denied receiving a report of somebody jumping into the sea.
The clothes and shoes of the missing person were found in possession of the Pastor.
A statement on Sunday by the spokesman of the Lagos State Police Command, Bala Elkana, said it was established that the missing person was actually at Oniru Beach before his disappearance.
Elkana also said the Pastor was the last person that had contact with the missing person, but that it was not yet established whether the missing person is dead or still alive.
However, he was circumstantial pieces of evidence gathered so far are strongly pointing towards the Pastor.
He said the Pastor not only sold the phone belonging to the missing person, but he also converted the money he found in the trouser of Olufemi to his own use, adding that there was no record Ologonla reported the incident to any Police Station.
He said Commissioner of Police for Lagos State, Hakeem Odumosu, has ordered the immediate transfer of the case to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba for further investigation and diligent prosecution.
