Wale Igbintade
A 23 year-old student of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, in Akure Ondo State, yesterday painted a graphic picture at the Ikeja Special Offences and Domestic Violence Court, of how she was allegedly raped twice by the senior pastor and founder of I Reign Christian Family Church, Bishop Oluwafeyiropo Daniels.
The witness, who was a former assistant pastor of the church’s branch in Akungba, Akure, Ondo State, told the court that her first encounter with the bishop was on May, 28, 2018, when he came for a program tagged “Strictly Supernatural,” which her friend invite her to.
Led in evidence by the Lagos State H Prosecutor, Mr. Babajide Boye, she stated that she became a member of the church and at some point when her Pastor, Toyosi Bamishe, needed to hand over to Pastor Boluwatife Oladejo, she was made the assistant pastor.
She said that on June 21, 2020, the defendant ordered her to come to the sitting room for her report of the church 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 message by Pastor Chris Oyakhilome on television when he came to the sitting room and ordered her to take off her clothes.
According to her, the defendant increased the volume of the television and surprisingly, he also went naked and raped her for about 30 minutes till she started bleeding and she sustained tears despite not being a virgin and she became scared because she knew that this was beyond test of loyalty.
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 knows that I should shut up.
“When he was done, he ordered me to go wash up. Immediately he collected my phone and cleaned the blood before I came out. He said I should not tell anybody that the day I tell anyone, I will run mad.
“I was very scared and the whole thing was like a drama to me. Then I went back to the guest room and on the next day June 22, I got my phone and sent my pastor, Oladejo, message on WhatsApp through a code and he figured that I had been violated.
“Then I told him to delete the message from his end that I will delete mine. He thought it was a joke that it was Bishop Daniels that was testing his loyalty.
“Bishop Daniels did not allow me to go out. If I want to go out he will send the security man, it was then that I knew that he was a rapist. I remembered how my friend had told me that she was violated by bishop and he tried to harm her.
“For my safety I started behaving mad and at night he came to the room and said he wanted to have sex with me, I refused and told him I had tears from the previous forceful violation, then he got very angry and left the room.
“On June 23, in the morning, I was planning how to leave and when I came out of the room he was tying red towel and 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 that people would have been happy that he had sex with them. He took off my cloth and raped me again. He told me that I would die if I tell anyone.
“I bled the second time then he ordered me again to go take my bath and ordered me back to the room. Immediately sent a message to Pastor Oladejo that Bishop had raped me again.
“After I sent the message, Bishop came into the room and started begging me and he was crying and said he didn’t know what came over him and that it has never happened before and it will not happen again.”
The witness testified that the defendant had a meeting in Ghana and he traveled for the meeting and sent her N5000 to get drugs because the tears that she got from the forceful sex had turned in to boils.
She said that when she visited her sister’s house, she couldn’t tell her what had happened.
“I told Bishop that I was in severe pains that I might need surgery as I could not urinate. That it requires me to use pasta on my private part before I can urinate.
“He said he would come back from Ghana on June 30, with his wife and two children and take me to the hospital.
“When he returned with his wife Awele and children, almost immediately the wife entered the house, she noticed the way I was walking and she asked what happened and Bishop Daniels told her that I had toilet infection that he was going to take me to the hospital the next day.
“The next day July 1, 2020, as early as 6:23 a.m., Bishop came to the guest room where I slept with his two children, Rachel and their house help and took my phone.
“He said he pretended to be me and told pastor Oladejo what had happened and then he got angry, went to his room and brought out an iron rod and asked me to swear in front of his children that I will never tell anyone that if I did, I will run mad.
“So out of fear I sworn then he took my phone and texted pastor Oladejo that it was a prank that I was not raped.”
She explained that the defendant took her to First City Hospital at Lekki where she met a doctor, Tina Clement, who was also a church member in Lekki Church.
The victim said that before they got to the hospital the defendant had warned her in the car that she should tell the doctor that she was raped by her boyfriend.
She said: “He stayed there throughout the questioning by the doctor the results were sent to bishop and the prescribed drugs he got for me. Up till today, I don’t know what the result of the test that was done is.
“I took the drugs and I started feeling better then I left the house. Before I left he sent me a message asking do you feel better and I responded that I had a tear and I was using hot water for that, that I was getting better sir.
“He said don’t stop keep taking the drugs, I told him that I have boils all over my vagina and I can’t sit or stand properly and urinating was the most of it. He responded that I will be fine.”
Earlier the undergraduate, who testified before Justice Ramon Oshodi, stated how her ordeal started with the bishop.
She said that on January, 9, 2020, a message was sent to the pastor’s WhatsApp group instructing all pastors of I Reign Christian Family to come to Lagos for a minister’s conference, but because the meeting was clashing with her brother’s wedding and they were preparing for exams in school, she could not go.
She stated that Pastor Oladejo and she took permission to be excused because they would be writing exams.
According to her, the defendant granted Pastor Oladejo permission to write the exam but said I didn’t take mine properly and he was going to punish me.
The witness told Justice Oshodi that the defendant asked her to transcribe about six of his audio teachings and submit to him but because of her exams and the event in her family, she was unable to meet up with the deadline.
“Bishop said he was going to punish me and instructed that nobody should celebrate my birthday in church, because my birthday was January. So he called Pastor Oladejo to tell me to report to the Lagos Church for my punishment.
“I called Bishop, and my pastor also called him to beg on my behalf, but he insisted that I should come to Lagos stating that I do not honour him.
“He said his instructions are the most important thing in my life that he is my spiritual father and anything he says is above anything in my life; that even if I have exams to write, and he tells me to report to Lagos that it is a must I obey him except he says otherwise.
“So, on January, 17, 2020, I went to his house in Lekki for the punishment and when I got there, he was alone at home. He said I should go naked. I found it strange that my pastor will ask me to go naked.
“He was very serious and said that I should take off my clothes at first, I thought he was joking. I took off my jacket, then he ordered that I should pull off everything that was on me.
“He saw that I was shocked at his statement and started making me feel guilty,” the witness said.
She further testified that the defendant ordered her to give him her phone and after he took her phone he switched it off and said he was going to punish her and have covenant with her.
“I was confused that I will go naked before my pastor and that covenant was made by blood. I told him that I cannot go naked for a man because he was not my husband and that it was against his teachings.
“He got angry and said who I’m I to tell him about his teachings, that he had thought me a lot about honour, that is that how he thought me, then his eyes turned literally red and he became very angry and said how can I tell you to go naked and you will be questioning me I am your spiritual father.
“I became very scared and sweaty under fan and air Cconditioner. For fear of the unknown I had to go naked.
“I was shivering then he said when a lady is naked it meant she wants to have sex. I told him I didn’t understand what he meant. He said he wanted to have sex with me as a proof of my loyalty.
“I told him I cannot have sex with him because he was not my husband then he started telling me how he had such things for his spiritual father, Prophet Babajide, of Christ Apostolic Church.
“How he has done so many things for his spiritual father some sex activities which he did without asking him questions. I stood my ground and refused that I was not going to have sex with him because he was not my husband.
“I refused till the end then he started laughing and said he was just testing my loyalty that out of all his pastors that he can see what I have displayed that I do not love and honour him.
“I told him that I love and honour him but this request was something that is beyond me. He then said I love my wife and I will never have sex with another woman I just wanted to test you and see your loyalty.
“He ordered me to put on my clothes and said he thought I honoured him and then asked me not to tell anyone about what happened that I should keep it to myself.
“He said if I tell anyone he would figure it out and then punish me. I left his house and slept in the church and then left the next day, then I told pastor Oladejo and Bamise,” the witness said.
The case has been adjourned till May 24 and 25 for continuation of trial.
