A shocking and saddening case is being heard in Lagos State, as a lady share her ordeal with a court, chronicling how a ‘man of God’ raped her multiple times.
Disgust was all you could see in the face of everyone in the courtroom. It is not uncommon to hear about rape, but one involving a pastor raping a female member of his church is not common.
Cases like this make it clearer when people say “Judgement will begin in the church”.
Recently, a 23-year-old student of Adekunle Ajasin University in Akure, Ondo State, (name withheld) testified in court.
The man in the centre of the court case is Oluwafeyiropo Daniels.
Daniel is the founder of I Reign Christian Family Church, where the 23-year-old served as an assistant pastor.
The Trial
The trial took place at an Ikeja Special Offences and Domestic Violence Court under Justice Ramon Oshodi.
The witness shared her initial encounter with Daniels, which occurred on May 28, 2018, when he visited Akure for a church event.
She later became a member of the church and was eventually made assistant pastor.
Proof Of Loyalty
According to her, on June 21, 2020, Daniels summoned her to the Lagos church to be punished for missing a ministers’ conference and failing to transcribe some of his audio teachings.
He then allegedly ordered her to undress, claiming he wanted to have sex with her as proof of her loyalty.
After she refused, Daniels reportedly raped her, ignoring her pleas and telling her to “shut up”.
“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.”
Raped Again
A day after the incident, the victim managed to send a coded message to her pastor via WhatsApp, who initially thought it was a joke.
Two days later, Daniels raped her again, threatening her with death if she revealed the incident.
“On June 23, I was planning how to leave and when I came out of the room, he was tying a red towel.
“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.
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“He said people would have been happy that he had sex with them.
“Again, he took off my clothes and raped me. 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.”
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The defendant took the victim to a hospital in Lekki, instructing her to tell the doctor who was a member of the church that she was raped by her boyfriend.
It is a story full of disheartening incidents of rape that the tingle the ear.
At the end of the hearing for the day, the trial was adjourned for May 24 and 25.
