News

Bishop Allegedly Rapes Female Pastor Twice, Threatens Victim

Published

3 years ago

June 8, 2022

The founder of a church in Lagos State, identified only as Bishop Daniels, has been accused of raping an assistant female pastor at his house in the Lekki area of the state.

PUNCH Metro gathered from the victim that Daniels, who is married with children, allegedly raped her on two separate occasions, adding that she bled during the incident.

The PUNCH learnt that the victim, who was based outside Lagos, was summoned to the Lagos headquarters of the church where the incident happened.

She said, “He wanted me to attend a meeting and the date clashed with my brother’s wedding. So, I didn’t attend the meeting and as punishment, he ordered church members at my branch not to celebrate my birthday and instructed me to report to the church’s headquarters in Lagos for punishment.

“So, I went to his house in Lekki for the punishment and when I got there, he said I should strip naked because he wanted to beat me. He was alone at home. He saw that I was shocked at his statement and started making me feel guilty.

“He said his spiritual father tested him in many areas and after hours of contemplating, he became angry that I disobeyed him. So, I went into the guest room, took off my clothes and closed my eyes as I came out to meet him. He told me not to close my eyes, and ordered me to kneel as he sat on a chair.

“He saw my nakedness and said he wanted to test my loyalty and was not having sex with me. He told me to put my clothes back and after wearing them, he told me to take them off again and I did. He later told me to go and not tell anyone, but after leaving his place, I told some of our senior church members.”

The victim said she returned home and after some time, Daniels called her to report at his residence over another incident.

She said, “So, while at his house, he told me he would punish me for an offence and said I should transcribe the messages in one of his teachings. The next day, the pastor of the branch in Ibadan and his wife whom I met at his residence the previous day left, so I was alone in the house with Bishop Daniels.

“So, while in the sitting room with him, he attempted to kiss me and I stopped him; then he slapped me. He was angry and said the last time he told me to go naked, he didn’t do anything with me. So, he left and I went into the room to sleep.

“The following day, we were in the sitting room listening to a pastor’s message when he said I should go naked again. I did, and surprisingly, he also went naked and raped me for about 30 minutes till I started bleeding because of the tears I sustained despite not being a virgin.

“The incident happened around 10pm; I was dumbfounded. He told me to go inside the room to clean up myself and before I returned, he had cleaned up the blood on the floor. He told me not to tell anyone, but I told a pastor in my church.”

The victim said Daniels did not allow her to leave his house, adding that when he attempted raping her the following night, she pleaded with him that she was tired.

The 22-year-old said, “In the morning, I greeted him, but he didn’t answer. Later, he started saying I should be privileged that he had that kind of thing with me. All of a sudden, he took off my clothes and raped me again and I still bled the second time. It was traumatic for me.

“He told me to go to the bathroom to wash and he cleaned the blood before I came out. I picked up my phone, informed the pastor of my branch and another church member of our branch, who decided to come to the pastor’s house.

“Bishop Daniels started begging me and said he never knew what came over him. When the church member came, I wanted to follow her out to tell her the story, but he prevented me from leaving the house. I later left his house but while thinking about the incident, I felt suicidal.

“I stopped going to the church and my branch has been closed down. I reported the incident to the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, in 2020. But the investigating police officer, one inspector Samuel, told me to bring N70,000 if I wanted him arrested.

“I did not have that money and had to stop going to the station. Bishop Daniels started sending people to beg me, but I just moved on. Recently, two other victims reached out to me that Bishop Daniels attempted to have sex with them and I got someone ready to sponsor my case.

“So, I instituted the case again last month at the FCID Alagbon and he was arrested last week. I want justice, but the police have yet to charge him to court even after I gave them all my evidence, including how he was threatening me over the case and how his wife was begging me.”

Contacted to get his reaction regarding the victim’s allegations, Daniels said, “I don’t know or have any pastor with the name you gave me. If you want to publish an article, I will be glad to make money.”

However, in one of the audio recordings the victim sent to our correspondent, the bishop was heard telling her that they should commit sin together.

In another audio, the victim was heard crying as she challenged the bishop for telling someone that she wanted sex with him and he did it.

Responding, Daniels, in the audio said, “Don’t say that to anybody, I have not even been talking to anybody.”

A spokesperson for the FCID, Niyi Ogundeyi, said following the complaint of the victim, Daniels was arrested and detained for six days.

He said, “The case was initially reported in 2020, but the complainant said the case was not properly handled and it was referred to Supol Yemi. Bishop Daniels was arrested and detained for six days. Afterwards, he was released because he is entitled to bail and the police have no right to detain him perpetually.

“Meanwhile, investigation is ongoing and an appointment has been given to all parties to visit the command on Thursday. The allegation against him is that he sexually harassed her and other people corroborated the evidence of the complainant. Investigation is ongoing.”

PUNCH.

News

PHOTOS: Esama Of Benin Commissions BRC Ultramodern Lounge, Promises A Phase Lift

Published

7 hours ago

June 29, 2025

Editor

The Esama of Benin Kingdom, Chief Gabriel Igbinedion, has promised to give a phase lift to the Benin Recreation Club (BRC) in the next 12 months.

Chief Igbinedion made the promise in Benin on Saturday when he officially visited the BRC to commission a newly remodeled ultramodern ‘Chief Go.O. Igbinedion Bustop Lounge.’

The Esama, who expressed dissatisfaction on how he met the ancient recreation club, said: “This place needs a drastic improvement. I would, therefore, like the committee to see me, and I promise 12 months from now, this place will wear a new look.”

Chief Igbinedion, however, thanked current and past executives of the club for a job well done, and for sustaining the BRC, saying “many organisations or associations as this have gone into extinction but you have put in your best to keep this going.”

The octogenarian, who thanked the leadership and the board of trustees for the honour done on him through the naming of a lounge, also vowed not to neglect the leadership especially knowing well that he has been a founding member of the BRC.

In his remarks, Special Guest of Honour and Chief Judge of Edo State, Justice Daniel Okungbowa, while describing the BRC as the best place to relax after a stressful day, urged members of the public who are yet to join the BRC to do so.

Earlier in his welcome speech, president of the BRC, Courage Osamuyi said the lounge was named after Chief Igbinedion in recognition of his great support for the club and his contribution to humanity.

Justice Daniel Okungbowa, Chief Judge of Edo State

The BRC president, who declared that the presence of the Esama in the BRC signifies a new dawn, said “what we are having today is just the beginning. As he has stepped into this place, greater things will start to happen.”

Osamuyi, while noting that the Esama “has been a founding member of the club over the years,” thanked Chief Igbinedion for his good work and for honouring them with his presence.

Osamuyi Courage, President of The BRC

News

Peter Obi Condemns Tinubu’s Saint Lucia Trip

Published

10 hours ago

June 28, 2025

Editor

Labour Party leader and former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s planned trip to Saint Lucia, describing it as poorly timed and lacking in sensitivity, especially amid Nigeria’s deepening economic and security challenges.

Tinubu is expected to leave Nigeria on Saturday for Saint Lucia and is also scheduled to attend the upcoming BRICS summit in Brazil.

In a post shared on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, Obi expressed dismay over the president’s travel, questioning the state of governance in the country.

Obi argued that Tinubu’s trip highlights a pattern of misplaced priorities by the administration, particularly at a time when citizens are grappling with widespread hunger and insecurity.

“What I have seen and witnessed in the last two years has left me in shock about poor governance delivery and apparent channelling of energy into politics and satisfaction of the elites, while the masses in our midst are languishing in want,” Obi stated.

He lamented the toll of rising insecurity across Nigeria, pointing out the country’s deteriorating safety situation.

“In the past two years, Nigeria has lost more people to all sorts of criminality than a country that is officially at war.

“Without any twilight, Nigeria ranks among the most insecure places in the world. Nigerians are hungrier, and most people do not know where their next meal will come from,” he wrote.

Obi said he was stunned when he learned of the President’s travel plans, especially following what he described as a recent holiday in Lagos.

“With such a gory picture of one’s country, you can imagine my bewilderment when I saw a news release from the Presidency announcing that President Bola Tinubu is departing Nigeria today for a visit to Saint Lucia in the Caribbean,” he said.

Quoting Saint Lucia’s Prime Minister, Philip J. Pierre, Obi noted that the visit comprises both official and personal segments.

“According to the Prime Minister’s announcement, ‘two of these days, June 30 and July 1, will be dedicated to an official visit, with the remainder of the trip set aside as a personal vacation,” he said.

Obi noted that he initially found the report hard to believe.

“I told the person who drew my attention to the Caribbean story that it cannot be true and that the President is just coming back from a holiday in Lagos.

“I didn’t want to believe that anybody in the position of authority, more so the President… would contemplate a leisure trip at this time,” Obi said.

He condemned Tinubu’s failure to visit disaster-stricken areas like Minna in Niger State, where over 200 people reportedly died and hundreds remain missing due to flooding.

“This is a President going for leisure when he couldn’t visit Minna, Niger State where over two hundred lives were lost and over 700 persons still missing in a flood natural disaster,” he said.

Obi also took issue with Tinubu’s recent trip to Benue State, claiming it was politically motivated rather than compassionate.

“The other state in crisis where over two hundred lives were murdered, the President yielded to public pressure and visited Makurdi… for what turned out to be a political jamboree than condolence as public holiday was declared and children made to line up to receive the President who couldn’t even reach the village, the scene of the brutal attack,” he said.

Drawing comparisons between Nigeria and Saint Lucia, Obi questioned the logic of prioritising a visit to the Caribbean nation over addressing pressing domestic issues.

“Makurdi is 937.4 Km², which is over 59% bigger than St Lucia, which is 617 km², and Minna is 6789 square kilometres, which is ten times bigger than St Lucia. St Lucia, with a population of 180,000, is less than half of Makurdi’s 489,839 and Minna, with 532,000 is almost three times the population of St Lucia,” the former Anambra governor said.

He concluded his post by stressing the urgent need for leadership that is grounded in empathy and focused on addressing the suffering of ordinary Nigerians.

He said, “I don’t think the situation in this country today calls for leisure for anybody in a position of authority, more so the President, on whose desk the buck stops.

“This regime has repeatedly shown its insensitivity and lack of passion for the populace…”

Obi added, “This very obvious indifference of the federal government to the suffering of the Nigerian poor should urgently be reversed.

“One had expected the President to be asking God for extra hours in a day for the challenges, but what we see is a concentration of efforts in the 2027 election and on satisfying the wealthy while the mass poor continues to multiply in number.”

News

World Bank Lists Nigeria Among 39 Nations Facing Rising Poverty, Hunger

Published

10 hours ago

June 28, 2025

Editor

The World Bank has listed Nigeria among 39 countries where poverty and hunger are deepening as a result of conflict and instability.

In a report released on Friday, the bank said the economies, a mix of low- and middle-income countries, span all global regions. Among them are Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Ethiopia, Libya, Mali, Nigeria, Sudan, Ukraine, and Zimbabwe.

The report, which assesses the economic impact of conflict and fragility in the post-COVID-19 era, revealed that 21 of the 39 countries are experiencing active conflict.

According to the findings, extreme poverty is rising more rapidly in these countries, taking a severe toll on economic development, worsening hunger, and derailing progress toward key development goals.

Since 2020, the report noted, the average per capita GDP of these economies has declined by 1.8 per cent annually, in contrast to a 2.9 per cent growth rate recorded in other developing countries.

The report partly reads: “This year, 421 million people are struggling on less than $3 a day in economies afflicted by conflict or instability—more than in the rest of the world combined.

“That number is projected to rise to 435 million, or nearly 60% of the world’s extreme poor, by 2030.”