A Lagos-based gospel artiste, Matthew Ogundele, alongside three members of his team, has been found dead inside a music studio in the Abraham Adesanya area of Ajah, Lagos State.
The other victims were identified as Itunu Ogundele, Joseph Sanya and a blogger, Matthew Awosanya, popularly known as JoesTv.
It was gathered that the quartet had been invited to minister on Tuesday during the second day of a three-day birthday praise programme organised by a female gospel singer, Olanireti Akinbola.
A police source disclosed that the programme ran late, prompting the artistes to remain overnight in the studio, where they were later found lifeless the following morning.
“The convener organised a three-day birthday praise that began on Monday. One of the artistes was scheduled to minister on Tuesday and came with his crew. Because the programme ended late, they decided to sleep in the studio.
It was the next day that their bodies were discovered,” the source said.
A Christian blog, Omojesu, also reported the incident in a post sighted by our correspondent on Saturday, noting that the victims allegedly chose to stay overnight due to the distance to their homes.
The case was reported at the Ajiwe Police Station, Ajah, while friends and colleagues of the deceased have taken to social media to demand a thorough investigation.
When contacted, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the incident.
She said the owner of the studio, Akintayo Akinbola, who is the husband of the celebrant, reported the matter on Wednesday.
According to Adebisi, Akinbola told the police that he left the artistes in the studio on Tuesday night after purchasing food for them and returned home.
“He said he returned to the studio around 11am on Wednesday and found the door locked from the inside.
After calls for help, the door was forced open, and the bodies of the four persons were discovered inside,” she said.
Adebisi added that detectives visited the scene and found no visible signs of violence on the bodies.
“The corpses were taken to the Mainland Hospital, Yaba, where they were confirmed dead by a medical doctor.
”They were later deposited at the Mainland General Hospital mortuary for autopsy,” she stated.
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She noted that the matter had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, for further investigation.
