A pastor identified as Abraham Sunday, has been arrested by the officials of the Ojokoro Police Division for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl, (names withheld) in Adalemo Estate, in the Toll Gate area, of the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, Lagos State.
Sunday, who is the pastor of Christ In All Nations Church in Adalemo, was arrested on Wednesday, September 2, 2015.
The pastor allegedly took the victim to a house on Friday, August 28, 2015 in the guise that he wanted to carry out deliverance on her because to cure the sickness.
It was in that same house at the Adalomo Estate that he raped her.
According to Punch, the victim’s mother, who said the pastor was a family friend, became apprehensive after she did not hear from her daughter.
The attention of the landlord of the house where the pastor kept the girl hostage, was called to the incident and he filed a report in that regard to the police.
The victim was subsequently rescued and taken to a hospital, where a medical test confirmed that she had been raped.
A police source said, “The pastor was like a foster father to the girl. She was ill and had gone to a hospital in the area. While returning from the hospital, she boarded the same bus with the pastor, who said he would take her to a place for prayers.
“Since the suspect was a family friend, she did not doubt him. So, they went to the pastor’s apartment, where he camped and raped her for three days. The victim’s mother did not even know about the deliverance prayer.
“On Monday, the landlord and some neighbours got suspicious of the pastor’s arrangement with the teenager and they alerted a non-governmental organisation in the area, which in turn invited the police. The girl was rescued and rushed to a hospital, where a medical test confirmed rape. The suspect was arrested immediately.”
The victim and her mother were thereafter referred to the Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team (DSVRT) and the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation.
The DSVRT Coordinator, Lola Viviour-Adeniyi, said the team had taken up the rehabilitation of the victim.
She said, “It was an NGO, Rubies Ink, that brought the matter to our attention.
“The girl was taken away for prayer. She was in the pastor’s house at the Adalemo area for three days, and during that period, he raped her.
“The DSVRT reached out to the victim’s mother, but she maintained that she would not pursue any case. While admitting that the pastor defiled her daughter, the mother said the pastor had a three-month-old baby, and she did not want him to be jailed.
“However, we informed the police at Ojokoro division that the state government was interested in the matter.
“This prompted the transfer of the suspect to the SDCI, Yaba.
“At present, the girl is undergoing treatment. She was taken to the Mirabel Centre.”
Confirming the ncdent the state police spokesperson, DSP Patricia Amadin, said, “The police have arrested the suspect, and the matter has also been transferred to the SDCI, Yaba.’’
