Man dies during church deliverance in Benin (See his photo)

A 45 year old man named Osayande Ekhator, died on Tuesday July 7th during a deliverance session at a pentecostal church named Hope Ministry aka Holy Ghost Deliverance centre located at Okwanga Street in the Egor LGA are of Edo State. According to reports, the man's family brought him to the church for spiritual cleansing a day before he died after battling an undisclosed ailment for sometime.

During the deliverance session the next day, which the man - with a mental illness - had reportedly shown interest in participating in, he died. Witnesses claim the man's legs and hands were tied and at some point he was thrown on the hard floor. Some say he fell on a hard object and hit his head. He was bleeding from the head when he was rushed to the hospital. (picture above).

His sister however said he was beaten to death by those that were delivering him. She said they kept hitting him after removing his clothes, poured a bucket of water on him and tied him up. The church told the family it was the usual practice...but Ekhator died.

After youths of the area heard what happened, they descended on the church, and vandalized the property. The police has since gotten involved and are now investigating what led to the man's death.

Photo credit: Punch