Father Accuses Pastor of Holding 16-Year-Old Daughter Hostage Before Mysterious Death

Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.

A 16-year-old girl who was seen healthy and cheerful by her father on a Monday was dead by Thursday of the same week, and the man who had been keeping her in his house against her father’s repeated pleas is now the subject of a widening criminal investigation in Rivers State. Kehinde Ajibade, a resident of the Diobu area of Port Harcourt, has formally requested that the Rivers State Police Command launch a comprehensive investigation into the death of his daughter, Favour Ajibade, an SS2 student of Orugbum Community Secondary School, Port Harcourt, who passed away on May 13, 2026, under circumstances that the grieving father has described as deeply suspicious.

Favour had been living with a pastor whom her father described as her “spiritual father,” a cleric who runs a ministry from his residence. According to Mr Ajibade’s account, she began attending the pastor’s church sometime in 2025. After that, he noticed a marked change in her demeanour. She began observing dry fasts at the instruction of the cleric, a practice that her father now believes may have directly contributed to her death.

On May 11, 2026, Mr Ajibade visited Favour’s school to pay her school fees. The vice‑principal called her out, and father and daughter spoke. She showed no sign of illness. He paid the fees and left. Two days later, he received a phone call from a hospital informing him that his daughter was sick and that they needed his attention. Before he could reach the facility, Favour had already died.

“I had repeatedly asked the man to release my daughter to me, but he refused,” Mr Ajibade told journalists in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. He has since called on the Inspector‑General of Police, the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, and the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department to ensure a thorough investigation into the matter and to secure justice for his daughter. He expressed dissatisfaction with the initial handling of the case, alleging that there were attempts to persuade him to accept a financial settlement instead of pursuing justice. He later transferred the case to the State CID, but he still felt the matter was not being properly addressed. “I want justice for my daughter. I am calling on the Inspector‑General of Police to intervene because my daughter cannot die like this,” he said.

A civil rights advocate, Samuel Robinson, has confirmed that civil society groups have formally written to the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, urging the command not to allow the matter to be swept under the carpet. Robinson alleged that the pastor’s wife had been mounting pressure on the bereaved father to accept a settlement, but that the family was demanding justice instead. “You cannot keep a minor for such a long period despite repeated requests from the parents for her release, and now the child is dead, while the cause of death remains unclear. The family deserves justice,” Robinson said.

When contacted on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Blessing Agabe, confirmed that the command had received a report on the incident and that an investigation was ongoing. Agabe dismissed claims that the matter was not being properly handled, insisting that the command was treating the case with the seriousness it deserved. “We are aware of the matter, and the investigation is ongoing. It is a serious issue, and we are handling it accordingly,” she stated.

A 16-year-old girl who was seen healthy and cheerful by her father on a Monday was dead by Thursday of the same week, and the man who had been keeping her in his house against her father’s repeated pleas is now the subject of a widening criminal investigation in Rivers State. Kehinde Ajibade, a resident of the Diobu area of Port Harcourt, has formally requested that the Rivers State Police Command launch a comprehensive investigation into the death of his daughter, Favour Ajibade, an SS2 student of Orugbum Community Secondary School, Port Harcourt, who passed away on May 13, 2026, under circumstances that the grieving father has described as deeply suspicious.

Favour had been living with a pastor whom her father described as her “spiritual father,” a cleric who runs a ministry from his residence. According to Mr Ajibade’s account, she began attending the pastor’s church sometime in 2025. After that, he noticed a marked change in her demeanour. She began observing dry fasts at the instruction of the cleric, a practice that her father now believes may have directly contributed to her death.

On May 11, 2026, Mr Ajibade visited Favour’s school to pay her school fees. The vice‑principal called her out, and father and daughter spoke. She showed no sign of illness. He paid the fees and left. Two days later, he received a phone call from a hospital informing him that his daughter was sick and that they needed his attention. Before he could reach the facility, Favour had already died.

“I had repeatedly asked the man to release my daughter to me, but he refused,” Mr Ajibade told journalists in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, May 26, 2026. He has since called on the Inspector‑General of Police, the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, and the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department to ensure a thorough investigation into the matter and to secure justice for his daughter. He expressed dissatisfaction with the initial handling of the case, alleging that there were attempts to persuade him to accept a financial settlement instead of pursuing justice. He later transferred the case to the State CID, but he still felt the matter was not being properly addressed. “I want justice for my daughter. I am calling on the Inspector‑General of Police to intervene because my daughter cannot die like this,” he said.

A civil rights advocate, Samuel Robinson, has confirmed that civil society groups have formally written to the Rivers State Commissioner of Police, urging the command not to allow the matter to be swept under the carpet. Robinson alleged that the pastor’s wife had been mounting pressure on the bereaved father to accept a settlement, but that the family was demanding justice instead. “You cannot keep a minor for such a long period despite repeated requests from the parents for her release, and now the child is dead, while the cause of death remains unclear. The family deserves justice,” Robinson said.

When contacted on Tuesday, the spokesperson for the Rivers State Police Command, Blessing Agabe, confirmed that the command had received a report on the incident and that an investigation was ongoing. Agabe dismissed claims that the matter was not being properly handled, insisting that the command was treating the case with the seriousness it deserved. “We are aware of the matter, and the investigation is ongoing. It is a serious issue, and we are handling it accordingly,” she stated.

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