The disappearance of 28-year-old Quadri Ogunbode, a graduate of Political Science Education from Lagos State University has left his family in deep anguish for close to 50 days.
Quadri, widely known as Howla, was last seen on January 16, 2025, within the premises of the Celestial Church of Christ, Ileri Oluwa Parish, LASU 2, located in the Ojoo area of Lagos.
Reports indicated that after completing his studies in 2024, he remained on campus, running a private business while awaiting his graduation ceremony scheduled for April this year.
His father, Idowu Ogunbode, shared the painful details of his son’s sudden disappearance.
Idowu recounted that on the night Quadri went missing, he had stepped out to buy food for his unwell girlfriend but never returned.
“His girlfriend was feeling unwell that night, so my son went out to get food for her. But he never returned,” Idowu said.
Alarmed by his absence, Quadri’s neighbours promptly informed his family, prompting them to take action.
Two days later, on January 18, Idowu and his wife reported the case at Ojo Police Station, where they encountered Quadri’s girlfriend already writing a statement.
According to her account, after purchasing food for her, Quadri returned home but later called to say he had been stopped by some individuals near the Celestial Church.
Idowu further revealed that Quadri had also called his mother around 9:20 p.m. that night, requesting N10,000. However, she declined, saying it was too late to send the money. That call was the last contact the family had with him.
Determined to find their son, Idowu and his family searched extensively but found no trace of him. When they questioned the Celestial Church, the response was dismissive, they claimed to know nothing about the incident.
Desperate for answers, the family paid N100,000 to individuals at Ojo Police Station to track Quadri’s phone, but this led nowhere.
However, a breakthrough came when they investigated his bank transactions. To their shock, large sums of money had been transferred from Quadri’s account to multiple recipients, nearly 24 hours after he vanished.
Idowu explained, “We found that Quadri’s money was transferred out of his account around 2 a.m. on January 17. The funds were sent to several people, including the prophet, by one boy named Sheriff.
“The first transfer was N10,000 airtime recharge sent to Sheriff’s phone number, followed by several other transactions. So, we took Sheriff’s number and gave it to someone in Abeokuta to track. The tracking revealed that he frequently contacted a particular lady.
“We then asked my son to call the lady and start a conversation, pretending to be interested in her. Fortunately, they exchanged pictures on WhatsApp, and I told my son to invite her on a date, which she agreed to. When she arrived at the eatery, the police arrested her.”
Following her arrest, the lady disclosed that she knew Sheriff from the Celestial Church. This led authorities to Sheriff’s residence, where he was taken into custody.
Sheriff initially denied knowledge of the financial transfers but was confronted with details from the bank transactions.
During further questioning, the lady through whom Sheriff was caught mentioned a name from the list of recipients, a name that, to the family’s horror, turned out to belong to her father, the cleric in charge of the Celestial Church.
Acting on this information, the police lured the prophet under the pretense of bailing out his daughter. Once he arrived, he was arrested.
“During interrogation, the prophet initially denied knowing Sheriff but later admitted that he was a member of his church.
“When questioned about Quadri’s money transferred to his account by Sheriff, the cleric claimed it was meant for the construction of the church fence.
“However, Sheriff later confessed at Panti Police Division after officers found clips on his phone showing him holding a gun.
“He revealed that he and his friends were cultists and that they regularly held their meetings at the Celestial Church,” Idowu said, his voice heavy with despair.
As the investigation continued, rumors emerged that Quadri might have fallen victim to a ritual killing.
Idowu shared, “The people said a buried corpse had been exhumed near the church premises and that they suspected it was my son. The trauma is unbearable.”
Despite selling his only car to fund the search for his son, the family remains without answers—whether Quadri is alive or dead.
“Now, I have nothing left. I have resorted to working as a bricklayer just to feed my family. Nigerians, please come to my aid, have mercy on me. I don’t know what the police are doing,” he pleaded.
“My son was supposed to graduate this April, but he has been missing since January. His disappearance has brought us unbearable pain. Nigerians, we are suffering—please help us find our son.
“Since the first month of this year, we have neither seen nor heard from him, dead or alive. Please, have mercy on us! Your son will never go missing, ooo!” she cried.
In response to the growing outcry, the Lagos State Chapter of the National Association of Nigerian Students Joint Campus Council, threatened on Thursday to stage a protest if the state government and security agencies fail to conduct a thorough audit of religious centers operating in student environments.
Meanwhile, the Celestial Church of Christ leadership has strongly denied any connection to Quadri’s disappearance.
A statement issued on Wednesday by Mr. Kayode Ajala, the CCC Head of Media and Secretary of the Members Pastors-In-Council, dismissed the allegations as “misinformation being circulated on the internet by armchair journalists and bloggers.”
The church asserted that contrary to viral claims, no corpse was found near the premises, and no exhumation took place.
They further stated that while the police arrested the prophet, he never confessed to murder, and the alleged N1.5 million transaction never occurred.
According to the church, the N70,000 linked to the case was for repairing a collapsed church fence.
“Police investigation is still ongoing, while the shepherd has been granted bail and is in the process of meeting his bail conditions. As the investigation progresses, more details are expected to emerge,” the statement read.
