Yvonne Omoarebokhae
Mr. Odion Omoarebokhae, the husband of the gospel singer, is
accusing the senior pastor of a Pentecostal church, identified as
Apostle Psalm Okpe, of allegedly killing his wife, Yvonne Omoarebokhae.
Yvonne had on April 8 been reportedly found dead in private a hotel located in the Government Reservation Area, a day after performing at a church programme in Warri.
Odion, a transporter who dismissed the speculation that his wife
died of cardiac arrest, alleged that she could have been given an
overdose of an unknown substance in the hotel room and left to die.
The 30-year-old woman was said to have been invited by the Lagos
based pastor, whom she had reportedly met on Facebook, to perform at a
church programme in Warri, Asaba and Benin.
She was said to have been confirmed dead at the Central Hospital,
Benin, while her corpse was deposited in a mortuary. Efforts to reach
pastor Okpe for comments were unsuccessful as he was said to be in
police custody.
However, acording to Punch, the husband of the deceased, who revealed that he did not know the pastor, said, “At
about 9pm, I was called to come to the Airport road police station.
Initially, I thought she had an issue with the taxi she took on her way
back.
“But later that night, the police, after tossing me here and
there, told me that she was dead. It was later that I discovered that
the pastor that invited her to cover the programme, Psalm Okpe, had
killed my wife.”
Odion also claimed the CCTV footage obtained from the hotel
revealed that both the cleric and the deceased lodged in the same room
and showed the suspicious movements of the pastor, which according to
him indicated his complicity in the death of the woman.
The man said, “I have watched the CCTV footage. Initially, the
pastor said that they came back together and she went her way and he
went his own way. But we have been to that place (hotel) and watched the
CCTV footage and discovered that, contrary to what he (pastor) wrote,
she (deceased) actually slept there.
“Immediately they entered, she was just following like a dumb
(and) went up upstairs. The police told me that they met my wife dressed
like somebody ready to go out. The police snapped her (took her
photograph) like somebody taking a nap.
“I have seen my wife’s body; there is no mark on her. From what
I observed, I think she was given an overdose of a substance I do not
know. Probably, her system could not take it.
“She communicated with me that day she died, at about 10am,
that they have finished performing; she could not return the day before;
that she is already in Benin (and) in the next one hour, she will be in
the house.”
The husband of the deceased, who claimed to have received calls
from some persons to withdraw the matter, urged the Nigeria Police Force
to conduct a thorough investigation in the interest of justice for the
aggrieved family.
“One or two person have been calling me that I should try and
bury my wife that they will talk to them for settlement. I have told
them (that) I didn’t sell her and I am not collecting any money from
anybody.
“I want the police to follow this case because I know that
pastor Psalm Okpe killed my wife. So, I want the law to make sure he
does not go unpunished,” Odion added.
The Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike, said that although an autopsy had been conducted, he was yet to receive the result.
“The matter is under investigation. Autopsy was conducted on
Saturday; as I speak to you, I’ve not received the autopsy report. Not
until I have the autopsy report before me, I will not be able to say the
cause of death.
“People should also not delve into areas where they have little
competence. For somebody who is not a doctor or who has not been
advised as such to hold an opinion where you have little competence is
also not correct.
“They should allow the investigation to run to its conclusion.
If they are not satisfied, they can go further; they can petition the
IG. They matter can be taken over from Abuja but it will amount to
overheating the polity for people to be making comments while matters
are under investigation.
On the whereabouts of the pastor, the police commissioner said, “He (Okpe) is with us. We are very open in matters we do. We have not recovered any substance.”
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