Okpebholo joins dignitaries to receive remains of late Archbishop Akubeze

Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo joined other dignitaries, including the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Umar Musa Ikhilor, Esq., Emperor Jaret Tenebe, APC chairman, and other top government officials, to receive the remains of the late Archbishop of Benin City, Most Rev. Augustine Obiora Akubeze, in Benin City.

The body was 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 Knights of St Mulumba.

The remains of the late Archbishop, who died on July 9, 2026, at the age of 69, were received amid an outpouring of grief and tributes from the Catholic faithful, government officials and other residents of the state.

Archbishop Akubeze was born on August 25, 1956, in Kaduna, Northern Nigeria. He was ordained a Catholic priest on October 3, 1987, and consecrated a bishop on February 25, 2006.

He became the pioneer Bishop of Uromi following his appointment on December 14, 2005, a position he held until 2011. On March 18, 2011, Pope Benedict XVI appointed him Archbishop of Benin City, and he was installed on April 28, 2011.

Until his death, Archbishop Akubeze served as the Metropolitan Archbishop of Benin City and remained a prominent voice in the Catholic Church in Nigeria. He served as Vice-President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) from 2012 to 2018 and President of the Conference from 2018 to 2022. He also served as Apostolic Administrator of the Diocese of Warri.