The bishop has been arrested, the police said.

The police in Abia State, South-east Nigeria, say they have arrested a Pentecostal bishop over the death of a female evangelist in a hotel room in Obingwa Local Government Area of the state.

The suspect, Timothy Otu, who is the general-overseer of Agape Evangelical Ministry, had checked into the hotel with the victim, Happiness Echieze, 43, who was later found dead in the hotel room, according to the police.

The police spokesperson in the state, Maureen Chinaka, who disclosed this in a statement on Thursday, said the bishop has been arrested.

Ms Chinaka, an assistant superintendent of police, gave the name of the hotel as Jubilee Guest House.

Mrs Echieze, the evangelist in the suspect's church, hailed from Isiala-Ngwa Local Government Area of the state.

Sources said the victim was a mother of three whose husband was residing in Bayelsa State, South-south Nigeria.

How it happened

Ms Chinaka said the suspect, Mr Otu, had checked into the hotel room with the victim at about 9:25 p.m. on 12 August.

The police spokesperson said, a man, believed to be a worker in the hotel, Godwin Akpan, reported to Isiala-Ngwa Police Divisional Headquarters, that he (Akpan) entered the hotel room at about 12:00 a.m. the same day and discovered the body of Mrs Echieze, the female evangelist.

"She was found unclothed, and a white substance was emanating from her mouth and nose. The clergyman was absent from the scene," Ms Chinaka said.

"We wish to convey that the suspected individual in this case has been apprehended. The case has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for discreet investigations," she stated.

The police spokesperson said the police have begun investigations in the incident and that the victim's body had been moved from the hotel to a mortuary in Aba, in Abia State.

She said an autopsy would be conducted on the victim's body to ascertain the cause of her death.