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.’’
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