The Lagos State Police Command has arrested a pastor,
Abraham Sunday, for allegedly raping a 16-year-old girl, Kike (pseudonym) in
Adalemo Estate, in the Toll Gate area, on the Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway. PUNCH
Metro learnt that Sunday, the pastor of Christ In All Nations Church in
Adalemo, was arrested by the Ojokoro Police Division last Wednesday, September
2, from where he
was taken to the Department of Criminal Investigation,
Yaba. It was gathered that Kike, who was ill, had been taken by the pastor to a
house in Adalemo Estate on August 28 for deliverance prayer when the incident
occured. It was learnt that the victim’s mother, who said Sunday was a family
friend, became apprehensive after she did not hear from her daughter. The
matter was said to have been reported to the police by the landlord of the
house where Sunday allegedly camped the teenager to rape her. A police source
told our correspondent that after Kike was rescued, she was taken to a
hospital, where a medical test confirmed that she had been raped. The pastor
was thereafter arrested. He 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.” Our
correspondent learnt that Kike and her mother were thereafter referred to the
Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team 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.” The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Patricia
Amadin, confirmed the pastor’s arrest. She said, “The police have arrested the
suspect, and the matter has also been transferred to the SDCI, Yaba.’’
Source: Punch
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