BENIN CITY — Edo State Governor, Senator Monday Okpebholo, on Tuesday joined other dignitaries to receive the remains of the late Archbishop of Benin City, Most Rev. Augustine Obiora Akubeze, in Benin City.
According to a statement signed by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Dr. Patrick Akhere Ebojele, the Governor was accompanied by the Secretary to the State Government, Umar Musa Ikhilor, Esq.; the Edo State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Emperor Jaret Tenebe; and other senior government officials.
The remains of the late Archbishop were received by Bishop Donatus Ogun, Apostolic Administrator of the Catholic Archdiocese of Benin City, alongside Rev. Fr. Dr. Augustine Ehigie, Rev. Fr. Michael Oyanoafoh, Papal Knights and members of the Knights of St. Mulumba.
The reception was marked by an outpouring of grief and tributes from Catholic faithful, government officials and residents of Edo State, who gathered to honour the late cleric.
Archbishop Akubeze died on July 9, 2026, at the age of 69. He was born on August 25, 1956, in Kaduna and was ordained a Catholic priest on October 3, 1987. He was later consecrated a bishop on February 25, 2006.
He became the pioneer Bishop of Uromi following his appointment on December 14, 2005, and served in that capacity until 2011. On March 18, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Archbishop of Benin City, and he was installed on April 28 of the same year.
Until his death, Archbishop Akubeze served as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Benin City and was regarded as a prominent voice within the Catholic Church in Nigeria.
He served as Vice-President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) from 2012 to 2018 and later became President of the Conference, serving from 2018 to 2022. He also served as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Warri.
The Edo State Government described his death as a significant loss to the Catholic Church and the state, as tributes continue to pour in ahead of his burial.
August 11, 2026
