James Aso, a senior shepherd of the Celestial Church of Christ Overcomers’ Parish in Ajah, Lagos, has denied being involved in the death of a labourer named Dogo, who died while cleaning a soakaway in the church premises.
Aso was brutally assaulted by an angry mob over the weekend, who accused him of using Dogo for money rituals. The mob also looted and burnt down the church building in a violent protest.
Aso, who is a subordinate of the founder of the Celestial Church of Christ, Samuel Oshoffa, told The Nation on Tuesday that he had nothing to do with Dogo’s death and that he was a victim of false allegations.
He said: “I have never engaged in such rubbish people are saying, I am an apostle of God and I will remain one for life. This is a tribulation not only for me but for the body of the church which I believe by the name of God Almighty and Papa (Samuel) Oshoffa, we shall overcome it.”
He explained that Dogo was a contractor who had been hired to clear the soakaway and that he had paid him three days before the incident. He said Dogo came to drop off his equipment at midnight without his knowledge and consent.
He said: “Even Dogo himself knew that I would never have allowed him to come and do such in the night not to talk of midnight. People are just taking advantage of what happened. I never asked him to come and do any work at midnight, for what? We didn’t believe the guy had died until we got to the hospital.”
The Celestial Church of Christ is a church founded in Africa by Samuel Oshoffa on 29 September 1947 in Porto-Novo, Benin. It has branches in many countries worldwide, including the United States and various countries in Africa.
