A 23-year-old student of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko in Akure Ondo State, (names withheld) on Tuesday, narrated to an Ikeja Special Offences and Domestic Violence Court how she was allegedly raped by the founder of her church, Oluwafeyiropo Daniels, of I Reign Christian Family Church.
The witness, who is a former
assistant pastor of the church’s branch in Akungba, told the court presided
over by Justice Ramon Oshodi that her first encounter with the bishop was on
May 28, 2018, when he visited Akure for a programme.
The rape victim, who was led in
examination-in-chief by the Lagos State prosecution counsel, Babajide Boye,
testified that subsequently, she became a member of the church and when her
pastor, Toyosi Bamishe, needed to hand over to Pastor Boluwatife Oladejo, she
was made the assistant pastor.
She said the bishop summoned
her to the Lagos church to be punished for her inability to attend a ministers’
conference that clashed with her brother’s wedding and her failure to meet the
deadline set for her to transcribe about six audio teachings of the bishop.
She said on June 21, 2020, the
defendant directed her to come to the sitting room for her to present the
church’s report and then he showed her the plans he had for the church in the
next five to 10 years.
The victim told the court that
she was listening to a television programme when he entered the sitting room
and ordered her to take off her clothes.
She said the bishop told her
that he wanted to have sex with her as proof of her loyalty.
She said she told him she could
not have sex with him because he was not her husband and he told her how he
carried out some activities for his spiritual father.
According to her, when she did
not cooperate with him, the bishop resorted to raping her.
She said, “He pinned me against
a three-seater couch and raped me. He was bigger than me and I was bleeding
from my private part.
“I was begging him but he
didn’t listen. I told him I was bleeding, he said he knew and that I should
shut up.
“When he was done, he ordered
me to go and wash up immediately. He collected my phone and cleaned the blood
before I came out. He said I should not tell anybody and that the day I tell
anyone, I will run mad.”
The victim said she was scared
but that on the following day, she got her phone and sent her pastor a message
on Whatsapp through a code and he figured that she had been violated.
She said the pastor initially
thought it was a joke and that it was Daniels that was testing his loyalty.
She added, “On June 23, I was
planning how to leave and when I came out of the room, he was tying a red towel
and he said I should even be happy that he raped me, that he told me he wanted
to have sex with me and I rejected him.
“He said people would have been
happy that he had sex with them. He took off my clothes and raped me again. He
told me that I would die if I tell anyone.
“I bled the second time and he
ordered me again to go and take my bath and ordered me back into the room. I
immediately sent a message to Pastor Oladejo that the bishop had raped me
again.”
She explained that the
defendant took her to a Lekki-based hospital where she met a doctor who was
also a member of the Lekki Church.
The victim said before they got
to the hospital, the defendant warned her in the car that she should tell the
doctor that she was raped by her boyfriend.
The case was adjourned till May
24 and 25 for continuation of trial.
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