The Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church Worldwide, Ayo Ni O, has appointed Most Senior Special Apostle Pastor Gabriel O. Kassim as the Acting Spiritual Father of the Church, following the death of its former Spiritual Father and Baba Aladura, Prophet (Dr.) Emmanuel Abiodun Adewale Alogbo.
The appointment, which takes immediate effect, was approved at an Extraordinary Meeting of the Church’s Board of Trustees held on Thursday, August 20, 2026, at His Grace Vicarage, Galilee, Oyo State.
The development was contained in a formal notice dated August 20, 2026, signed by the Conference Secretary-General, Senior Special Apostle Prophet (Dr.) Anthony Olusesan Samaye, JP, FCIHRM, MNIM, DIIHP, and addressed to church management committees, district chairmen, elders, secretaries, ministers and other leaders of the Ayo Ni O family worldwide.
The Board said the appointment was made in recognition of the need for continuity in the spiritual leadership and administration of the Church following the transition of its former spiritual head.
Pastor Kassim, who until his appointment served as Chairman of the New York District, was described by the Church as a respected and dedicated servant of God whose experience, commitment and years of service would be valuable in his new responsibility.
The Church consequently urged members worldwide to give the new Acting Spiritual Father the necessary support, cooperation and respect as he assumes the leadership responsibility.
It also called on members to remain united, prayerful and steadfast in the fulfilment of the Church’s spiritual mandate during the transition.
The appointment comes about three weeks after the death of Prophet Emmanuel Abiodun Adewale Alogbo, who died on July 30, 2026, at the age of 93. He was the Supreme Head (Olori) of the Cherubim and Seraphim Unification Church of Nigeria and Spiritual Father and Chairman of the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement Church Worldwide, Ayo Ni O.
Alogbo’s death marked the end of a significant era in the history of the Ayo Ni O movement. He was widely known as Baba Aladura and had devoted decades to the spiritual leadership and development of the Cherubim and Seraphim movement.
Born on April 18, 1933, on Easter Sunday, at Inabiri Street, Lagos, Alogbo came from a musical family. His father, Dickson Adeleye Alogbo, was a choirmaster at Hoare Methodist Church, Yaba. He later attended Ago-Ijaiye Primary School, Ebute Meta, and St. Paul’s Secondary School, Ayegbaju, Ile-Ife, before completing his secondary education at Oduduwa College, Ile-Ife.
He joined the Nigerian Railway Corporation in 1950, working initially in the Electrical/Refrigeration Section of its Engineering Department before his transfer to Zaria. It was in Zaria that his spiritual journey within the Cherubim and Seraphim Movement took a decisive turn.
According to the Church’s biography, Alogbo encountered a C&S congregation after hearing the choir perform one of his compositions. He corrected the rendition, joined the choir and subsequently began a lifelong commitment to the movement in 1959.
He later played a significant role in expanding the Ayo Ni O movement internationally, including its presence in the United States and United Kingdom. The Church credited him with contributing to the establishment and development of C&S congregations in cities including Los Angeles, New York and Houston.
Before his death, Alogbo had also led several development initiatives within the Church. Under his leadership, the movement promoted spiritual programmes and infrastructural projects at Galilee, including projects documented during the 2025 Mount Horeb Ascension. He also launched his Account of Stewardship, a book chronicling his spiritual journey and leadership vision.
His successor in an acting capacity, Pastor Gabriel O. Kassim, is not new to the central administration of the Ayo Ni O movement.
Available official Church records show that Kassim was already a member of the Board of Trustees before his appointment as Acting Spiritual Father. The Church’s official structure lists him as Most Senior Special Apostle Pastor Gabriel O. Kassim, with his C&S address in Brooklyn, New York.
His involvement in the Church’s international and central activities was also evident before the new appointment. During the 2025 Mount Horeb Ascension and related programmes at Galilee, Kassim was listed among senior church leaders and participated in official ceremonies and project dedications alongside members of the Board of Trustees and other principal officers.
His leadership of the New York District also places him at the centre of the Church’s activities in the United States. Recent reports confirming his appointment identify him specifically as Chairman of the New York District and describe him as a respected and dedicated servant of God with considerable experience in the Church.
Publicly available records, however, provide limited independently verifiable details about Kassim’s early life, date of birth, formal education and the precise dates of his various ecclesiastical appointments. Rather than speculate, available records establish his senior rank in the Ayo Ni O hierarchy, his membership of the Board of Trustees, his leadership of the New York District and his longstanding participation in major Church activities.
His emergence as Acting Spiritual Father therefore represents a move by the Board to maintain continuity while the Church navigates the period following Alogbo’s death.
The appointment also reflects the international character of the Ayo Ni O movement, with a senior church leader based in the United States now assuming responsibility for the spiritual leadership of a movement with congregations and members in Nigeria and beyond.
The Conference Secretary-General, in announcing the appointment, expressed confidence that with collective prayers, support and continued submission to the will of God, the Church would remain united and steadfast in fulfilling its divine mandate.
The Church’s transition follows the legacy of Alogbo, who spent decades building the movement and strengthening its international reach, while Pastor Kassim now assumes the responsibility of providing interim spiritual leadership at a critical point in its history.
The development is expected to usher the Ayo Ni O family into a new phase as it continues its spiritual activities and administration while honouring the legacy of its late Baba Aladura.
For the Ayo Ni O movement, the appointment of Pastor Gabriel O. Kassim is therefore not only a change of leadership, but a continuity measure aimed at ensuring that the spiritual and administrative machinery of the Church remains firmly in place after the passing of a revered leader.
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