Metro

JUST IN: Pastor Bags Life Imprisonment Gor Raping Church Member

Published

4 months ago

January 26, 2024

Editor

An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence court on Friday sentenced founder of iReign Christian Ministry, Feyi Daniels, to life imprisonment for “raping a church member”.

The trial judge, Rahman Oshodi, found the Lagos-based cleric guilty of rape and sexual assault of a female worshipper.

The PUNCH earlier reported that the Bishop, who took to the witness box in his own defence, testified that he believed three out of the four women who accused him of sexually assaulting them conspired to turn against him.

While fielding questions under cross-examination, the prosecution’s lead counsel, Babajide Boye, sought to establish that the defendant, Bishop Daniels, had a ‘personal relationship’ with the four women.

Boye alleged that the defendant had counseled one of the women, given the amount of N100,000 to another for hospital treatment, paid school fees for a third, and related with a fourth as a leader in the campus fellowship affiliated with his ministry at Akungba-Akobo in Ondo State.

But the Bishop denied giving money to one of the women for treatment. He said, “I believe all three ladies turned against me, but not (name withheld) because she later apologised to me.”

When asked why the accusations from the ladies were all sexual in nature, the defendant said he didn’t know.

Boye also accused the defendant of using his position as a Pastor to manipulate persons who come to him for counseling.

“You are a man of God. Are you not? A powerful man of God. You get trained to counsel, and you use wisdom and the leading of the spirit to manipulate,” he asked.

However, Daniels denied this allegation, saying, “I am not a powerful man; I am a pastor. I do not use power to counsel people; I am not a manipulator.”

The Prosecutor further grilled the defendant, “You visited your Akungba fellowship centre, and when she (one of the alleged victims) saw you, she hissed. Were you not surprised as a pastor?

“No. She was disgruntled because I couldn’t help her financially.”

The defendant also denied tampering with the WhatsApp messages between him and one of his alleged victims.

During the cross-examination, the prosecutor also sought to tender four statements purportedly written by the defendant whilst in police custody at various intervals last year.

“There are contradictions between the defendant’s testimony and the contents of the documents. We seek to use them to impeach his testimony. We rely on section 232 of the Evidence Act, that evidence even though obtained improperly is still admissible and we urge the court to admit same,” Boye said.

The defence counsel, Adebayo Adegbite, raised objections to the admissibility of the statements. He argued that the statements were not made by the defendant and that the Bishop signed them under duress.

“The statements are a mixture of confession and denial. We leave it to the court to determine whether they amount to a confession. Right from the start of this trial, the defendant has denied the charges, that’s his plea. The documents weren’t made voluntarily. Even if there were contradictions, he wasn’t the maker of the documents, they were written by the police,” Adegbite stated.

Meanwhile, in his ruling, Justice Rahman Oshodi admitted the documents. The judge said, “By section 9(3) and (4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State (2021), the presence of a video testimony of the suspect is desirable but not compulsory. I will admit the documents and later consider the evidential value to place on them. The objection of the defence is hereby overruled.”

Metro

Man Kidnaps 6-year-old Cousin, Kills Victim For Recognising Him

Published

3 hours ago

May 13, 2024

Editor

The Kaduna State Police Command has arrested a suspected kidnapper, Abdulazeez Idris, for allegedly abducting and killing his 6-year-old cousin in Makarfi Local Government Area of the state.

The deceased identified as Aisha Saidu, was on her way to Islamiyya school when she was abducted.

Spokesperson of the command, ASP Mansur Hassan, who disclosed this in a statement on Sunday, May 12, 2024, said the suspect used a razor blade to slash the girl to death because she recognized him.

Despite this, he went ahead to place a ransom demand of N8 million through an unknown caller who identified himself as the perpetrator.

According to the PPRO, the incident occurred on February 12, 2024.

“On February 12, 2024, at about 1: 00 hrs, Mr Saidu Dahiru, father of the victim a resident of Angwan Juma’a, Zaria, reported to the Zaria City police station that his daughter, Aisha Saidu, a six-year-old female, went missing on her way to Islamiyya school,” the statement read.

“The case was transferred to the Anti-Kidnapping Unit of SCID Kaduna, where they traced and arrested the perpetrator, identified as Abdulazeez Idris, in Makarfi Local Government.

“The suspect confessed to the heinous crime, admitting to slaying the innocent child by brutally slashing her neck with a razor blade because she recognized him and then disposing of her lifeless body in a well, ” the statement reads in part.

The PPRO further explained that the Commissioner of Police, CP Audu Dabigi, had assured the public that the case will be diligently investigated to ensure justice is served for the minor and her grieving family.

He stated that the suspect will be charged to court as soon as the investigation is completed.

Metro

Truck Crushes Five-year-old Girl In Lagos

Published

5 hours ago

May 12, 2024

Editor

The Police Command in Lagos State says a five-year-old girl, simply identified as Bosede, was crushed to death by a truck while crossing the Iganmu-Apapa Expressway with her mother.

The command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident to the newsmen on Sunday.

Hundeyin said the information about the accident was received by the Iponri Police Division on Saturday at about 11.30 a.m.

He said the accident happened at Iganmu under the bridge, inward Apapa, involving a truck driven by yet to be identified driver.

The spokesperson said the girl and her mother were crossing the expressway when the truck hit and crushed her head, killing her on the spot.

Hundeyin said the police traffic officers from the division visited the scene and removed the corpse for burial by the family.

He said an investigation is ongoing for the possible arrest of the fleeing driver.

Metro

Customs Intercept N8.7m Smuggled Petrol En Route Benin Republic

Published

16 hours ago

May 12, 2024

Editor

Officers of the Nigeria Customs Service, Western Marine Command, have intercepted 12,500 litres of Premium Motor Spirit known is petrol worth N8,750,000 along the Isalu Creek Badagry Waterway en route to Benin Republic.

According to a statement and pictures shared on X.com by the NCS on Sunday, the Customs Area Controller, Comptroller Paul Bamisaiye, revealed this at the command’s headquarters on Friday.

The statement partly read, “At about 2330hrs on Wednesday, 8 May 2024, while on joint patrol based on credible intelligence, we received the movement of two boats laden with what was suspected to be petroleum products concealed in sacks. Upon receipt of the information, the team moved into Isalu Creeks Badagry Waterway.

“The Customs Area Controller stated that careful examination of the seizure at the Command Headquarters revealed ‘177 sacks and 61 kegs of 25 Litres Premium Motor Spirit (PMS) containing 12,500 Liters with a total Duty Paid Value standing at N8,750,000.”

Bamisaiye was reported to have warned smugglers to desist from their acts or risk arrest, stating that the action of the smugglers contravenes Sections 245 and 254 of the Nigeria Customs Service Act 2023.

He was quoted as saying, “There’s a strong warning to the economic importance of this kind of seizure at a time of fuel scarcity cannot be over-emphasised.

“People are suffering due to artificial scarcity, but they are busy smuggling these products outside the country to make money. It’s either they stop this act, or we continue to arrest them. We have zero tolerance for this act.”

Similarly, the Adamawa/Taraba Area Command of the NCS said it also intercepted 12,435 litres of PMS worth N10.8 million being illegally exported to Cameroon.