The Magistrate Court II has remanded a Warri based General Overseer of Of Victory Revival Fasting and Ministry, Bishop Elijah Orhonigbe to prison till July 24, 2029 for allegedly raping a 19-year-old (name withheld) deliverance candidate.
The Court presided over by Ejiro.H. Diejomaoh(Mrs.) said it lacks the jurisdiction to hear the matter.
The Court said in the event that there was no space at the Nigeria Correctional Service in Okere, Warri, the accused should be remanded at the “A” Division Police Station.
The Court also adjourned the matter to July 24 for mention.
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The accused was dragged before the Court over the alleged rape of a 19-year-old girl(names withheld) by the Police.
Police Prosecutor, SP Vincent Orawemen leading DSP Sunny Irabor had in a motion with charge No. NW/113C/2020 prayed the Court to remand the accused in prison custody pending the legal advice of the Delta State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice.
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But Counsel to the accused, Mr. E.L. Umuze Esq had objected to the motion just as he prayed the Court to grant the accused bail based on its(Court) discretion.
The Warri Area Commander of the Nigeria Police, ACP Mohammed Muktar Garba hailed the position of the Court.
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ACP Garba said it will serve as a lesson to others who are hiding under the cloak of Christianity saying, “Nobody is above the law.”
The legal Adviser of the Nigeria Bar Association, NBA Warri Branch, Mr. Collins Tuoyo Osaretin Esq said the accused was arraigned and eventually remanded in the Correctional Centre, Okere in Warri.”
Human Rights Activist, Comrade Israel Joe in a chat with newsmen hailed the Court for remanding the Cleric in prison.
Joe said the Police and the family of the victim should know that rape cases are not supposed to be resolved outside the Court.
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According to Joe, “They should ensure that justice is served in this case because rape and defilement is a crime against our society. The Police must also ensure that those involved face the music in line with the law.
Bishop Elijah Orhonigbe has been taken to the Nigeria Correctional Service in Okere.
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Meanwhile, the Bishop denied the allegations levelled against him in our first report of the incident two days ago.
The Bishop who spoke with our newsmen on his way out of the police station to the court said:
“I did not rape her.”
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“she came to church on that faithful day on the 20th of May. The mother brought her to the church for deliverance and I prayed for her in front of the altar in the presence of three people. Immediately, after the prayer, she left the church …. She came back 5 ‘o’clock with policemen and the crowd saying this is the man. I did not rape her.”
Narrating her side of the story before newsmen, the victim said she was a member of the church from cradle before she stopped.
She said the suspect saw a vision and asked her mother to bring her for deliverance.
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The victim pointed out that the cleric said she (victim) slept with a suspected internet fraudster (Yahoo Boy) and that they cleaned her up with a handkerchief with an intention to use her for ritual.
The victim claimed that the cleric gave her olive oil to insert in her private part just as he also gave her more to drink before asking her to strip naked and lie down on a mat in the church with the sliding windows and doors closed.
“He started f**king me through the back. That was all I could remember. There were sperm all over my body. I shouted. He even said I should come again.
“I want to be the last he will do this to.”
www.sojworldnews.com (c) June 10, 2020
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