Pastor Wilson Okotie, THE Senior Pastor, High Impact Christian Centre, Sapele, Delta State has died of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) complications.
It was learnt that the pastor died at 6:40 pm on Monday after being smuggled into a private hospital in Sapele, against COVID-19 protocol.
Pastor Okotie, whose church is located along Akintola Road, Opposite Ita Lane, Sapele, was said to have developed symptoms of the virus on Thursday night.
He was reportedly rushed to a clinic in Warri, from where he was referred to Treasurehold Specialist Hospital along Ugbeyiyi road in Sapele, which admitted and had been secretly managing his condition against COVID-19 protocol.
However, the monitoring team of the Delta State Ministry of Health reportedly got wind of the matter and closed down the hospital, after discovering that two COVID-19 patients were being managed in the hospital.
Vanguard reported that the pastor died while awaiting evacuation after the hospital’s closure by Dr Richard Ikwuogu, incident manager of the COVID-19 response team, who led the Delta State Ministry of Health Epidemiology inspection/monitoring of health facilities team.
Some persons believed to be Pastor Okotie’s family members were said to have attacked an ambulance that visited the hospital to evacuate the remains of the late pastor.