A Lagos-based pastor, Bishop Oluwafeyiropo Daniels has bagged a life sentence for raping two members of his church, one of them a pastor in the  Reign Christian Ministry owned by the bishop.

Daniels was sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his 23-year-old assistant (name withheld), as well as sexually assaulting a 19-year-old member of the church.

The cleric was however discharged on the allegation of another victim that he sexually assaulted her. The judge cited mutual consent on the part of the alleged victim for throwing away her case.

The incident took place in 2020 at the Lekki home of the man of God, who has now become a convict by virtue of the sentence he received from the Lagos State Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Ikeja, on Friday.

The victims of the rape (name withheld) had accused the cleric of raping them in his Lekki posh home three years ago.

Pastor Daniels denied the allegations, but has now been convicted of the acts by the court.

In his judgment today, Justice Rahman Oshodi said there was enough evidence to convict Daniels of rape, citing the direct evidence by the victims to the court.

Justice Oshodi also held that the prosecution  had successfully proven all the ingredients of rape under Section 260 (2) of the criminal laws of Lagos State, 2015.

But Justice Oshodi discharged Bishop Daniels of the second count of allegedly raping another church member at his home in 2020.

The Testimony That Nailed Pastor Daniels

The victim said her encounter with Bishop Daniels started after she listened to his sermon on January 2, 2019.

“I told my cousin the sermon was nice and he told me the name of the church which I searched for and followed its page on Facebook.

“After that, I was able to chat with Feyi on Facebook and he added me to a WhatsApp group called Spiritual Sonship Group,” she testified.

“He later had a programme at OAU which I attended and met Brother Isaac, one of his spiritual sons, and we exchanged numbers.

“From the sonship group, I took an assistant pastor / first prosecution witness (PW1) (name withheld) to be my prayer partner because, irrespective of our gender, we call ourselves sons.

“On the WhatsApp group, Feyi dropped a message that all sons should pick a convenient time to fast for 70 days, pray for two hours and break at 6.00 p.m. daily and come to Lagos for laying of hands after the fasting,” she testified.

“On September 8 2019, I told her (PW1) that I was going to Lagos for the laying of hands but the programme started late and there was nowhere to sleep because I had no one I could stay with, in Lagos.

“PW1 told me to call and tell Feyi that I had no one to stay with for the night, and I did.

“He said there was no problem, and this made me to follow him to his house with some other members, including Bro Israel and his wife, but they later left the house that same day,” she said.

“The following morning, Feyi came out of his room and laid his hands on my head and started praying for me at the dining section, after I greeted him.

“I went inside the room to start preparing to go to Osogbo, and he told me there was food in the kitchen, that I should eat.

“I was eating at the dining when he came to meet me again and said, ‘Are you in your period?’

“I said, ‘No”, and he went back to his room.

“I did not see Rachael in the morning though we slept in the same room.

 “There are two portraits of one Prophet Babajide David Olulana in Feyi’s living room whom he told me was his spiritual father.

“Feyi told me to carry one of the portraits and stare at it so that I can hear the instruction myself, which I did.

“After a while, he came out of his room and asked if I heard anything.

“I told him,” No”. He then said that the portrait was talking to me but I could not receive it.

“He said his spiritual father would use another means to speak to me.

“I then got a text message on my phone with the sender showing Babajide. I could not call the number but the message read, ‘Whatever your father asks you to do, do it for your own good’.”

According to the witness, the defendant later came out and asked if she had received any sign.

“I told him I got a message. He said I should delete the message.

“Feyi told me that when I was born, my aunt did something to me which prevented my progress in life.

“He said the instruction he received was for him to help me so that I could be free from my aunt.

“I asked what the instructions was, and he said the instruction was for him to have sex with me.

“I was confused at this point. His eyes had already changed and he told me to go to his room.

“He (defendant) was playing a Christian song with the title, ‘Let Praises Rise’ on his phone.

“He pushed me on the bed, I tried to move away but he pulled me back as I was already naked.

“While Feyi was speaking in tongue, he was having sex with me,” she testified.

The witness further told the court that the defendant told her she would die if she would tell anyone about the alleged rape.

She said that the defendant raped her on other occasions and she got pregnant for him but lost it to an accident on Ilorin-Ibadan Road.

Credit: The Punch