A 63-year-old cleric, Pastor Chris Douglas, has been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja for raping a church member’s daughter.

Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Rahman Oshodi held that Douglas, the General Overseer of Peculiar Generation Assembly Church, Oshodi, abused his position of authority and trust to exploit the victim.

Describing the conduct as a gross breach of trust, the judge said, “The convict occupied a position of spiritual authority and was regarded as a father figure by the victim and her family.”

He added that instead of protecting that trust, the convict “betrayed it in the most reprehensible manner.”

The court held that the abuse occurred in a hotel on several occasions, noting that the victim and her family relied on the cleric for spiritual guidance.

Justice Oshodi further stated that the prosecution proved that the victim suffered severe psychological trauma as a result of the abuse.

“The court accepts the evidence that the victim suffered depression and recurring suicidal thoughts as a direct consequence of the cpnvict’s actions,” he said.

During the trial, the prosecution, led by the Director of Public Prosecution, Dr Babajide Martins, called five witnesses, including the victim, her mother, and a medical doctor.

Medical and documentary exhibits were also tendered in evidence.

The victim told the court that the cleric initially drugged and raped her in September 2017.

“I trusted him like a spiritual father. I never imagined he could do this to me,” she testified.

Her mother also told the court that she confronted the convict after discovering the incident.

“When I went to his church, he cried and said it was the work of the devil. He begged us in front of the elders,” she said.

The complainant said the matter was later reported to a human rights organisation, the police at Makinde Division, and the Mirabel Centre for a medical examination.

The convict, however, denied the allegations and told the court that the relationship was consensual.

But Justice Oshodi rejected the claim, holding that the evidence before the court established rape beyond a reasonable doubt.

“The defence of consent is not supported by the totality of the evidence before the court,” the judge ruled.

The court reviewed both oral and documentary evidence and considered objections raised by the defence under the Evidence Act, 2011.

While some documents were discounted for non-compliance, the court held that the oral testimony of the medical expert, Dr Maria Fadaka, remained admissible.

In his judgment, the court noted that although some alleged incidents were not sufficiently proved to have occurred before January 2018, the prosecution successfully established rape in relation to incidents when the victim was already 18 years old.

The court consequently discharged the convict on six counts of defilement and sexual assault but found him guilty on three counts of rape.

Justice Oshodi sentenced Douglas to life imprisonment on each count, holding that the sentences shall run concurrently.

“The law must protect the vulnerable, and this court will not hesitate to punish abuse of trust in the strongest terms,” the judge said.

The court also ordered that the convict’s name be entered into the Lagos State Sexual Offenders Register.

punch.ng

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

The Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Federal Capital Territory Command, has rescued a 15-year-old girl from alleged trafficking to Libya.

The command disclosed this in a statement on Friday in Abuja through its spokesperson, Monica Ojobi.

Ojobi said the girl was rescued from a 46-year-old suspect who allegedly detained her for two weeks in Kwali.

She said the rescue followed a missing person report filed by the victim’s mother.

According to her, preliminary findings showed that the victim was allegedly sexually abused while in the suspect’s custody.

“Further interrogation uncovered the suspect’s plan to traffic the minor to Libya for child labour before he was intercepted,” Ojobi said.

The FCT Commandant of the corps, Olusola Odumosu, said the suspect and the victim had been handed over to the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons for further investigation.

“We will ensure justice is served and dismantle networks enabling such crimes.

“My covert officers are gathering intelligence to guide our actions. We are not backing down,” he said.

He said the arrest underscored the corps’ commitment to protecting vulnerable children from exploitation and abuse.

Odumosu urged the public to remain vigilant and report suspicious movements of children to security agencies.

He called for stronger community cooperation to combat human trafficking and other criminal activities.

NAN

punch.ng

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN

The Nigeria Police Force has dismissed attempts to frame the extradition of murder and drug trafficking suspect Matthew Chukwuemeka Adebiyi to the United Kingdom as a tribal matter.

It said the case is strictly one of justice and criminal accountability.

The Force’s New Media Officer, Aliyu Giwa, made the clarification on Friday in a post on X, where he stated that official records confirm Adebiyi is of mixed heritage, with an Igbo mother and a Yoruba father.

“Crime has no tribe, justice has no ethnicity. Following Matthew Chukwuemeka Adebiyi’s extradition to the UK, his international passport and official records confirm that his mother is Igbo and his father is Yoruba.

“Portraying murder and drug trafficking charges as tribal issues is both inaccurate and potentially harmful.” Giwa wrote.

He stressed that neither the victim’s death nor the extradition process had any ethnic dimension.

“Matthew did not flee the UK because of his ethnicity. Joshua Boadu’s murder was not motivated by ethnic factors. The Nigeria Police Force did not facilitate this extradition on the basis of ethnicity. Justice has been served.

“Tribal identity should not influence legal proceedings. In this case, the facts are clear: a fugitive, a court order, and accountability,” Giwa stated.

Adebiyi was extradited on April 14, 2026, after spending nearly eight years as a fugitive in Nigeria following the June 2018 murder of Boadu in the United Kingdom.

He also faces charges of supplying crack cocaine between October 2017 and March 2018.

According to Giwa, Adebiyi fled to Nigeria believing distance would shield him from prosecution.

“He fled to Nigeria, thinking he would be safe. He was wrong,” he wrote on Thursday.

UK authorities submitted a formal extradition request to INTERPOL National Central Bureau Abuja in September 2024. Adebiyi was arrested on January 23, 2025, and extradition proceedings were filed at the Federal High Court in Lagos.

On February 16, 2026, Justice A. O. Faji approved the extradition, and Adebiyi was subsequently handed over to UK law enforcement at Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos.

Giwa noted the weight of the moment for the victim’s family. “Joshua Boadu’s family waited nearly eight years for this day. Today, the Nigeria Police Force and INTERPOL NCB Abuja made it possible,” he said.

The Inspector-General of Police, Olatunji Rilwan Disu, used the occasion to reaffirm the Force’s commitment to international law enforcement cooperation.

“Nigeria is not a hiding place. It is not a refuge for fugitives. No border, distance or time will stop the Force from working with the global community to deliver justice,” Disu said.

punch.ng

FOLLOW US ON:

FACEBOOK

TWITTER

PINTEREST

TIKTOK

YOUTUBE

LINKEDIN