A 12-year-old girl, Miss Ijeoma Mbiaka, on Wednesday narrated to DailyPost how the pastor of her church, Rhema Ministries in Oyeagu Abagana in Njikoka Local Government Area of Anambra State, Rev Sampson Otisi allegedly lured her to a hotel, under the guise of conducting deliverance on her but ended up raping her all through the night.
Ijeoma, who is hard at hearing, told our reporter that she had gone to the church to seek prayers from the pastor so that she could hear loudly again.
She, however, said she was lured to the hotel and raped from 9 pm to the next morning and dumped in the hotel room, where she cried until hotel attendants rescued her.
Speaking at the Magistrate Court Abagana after a court session, Ijeoma said she prayed all night reminding the pastor of the consequence of his act, but his pleas fell on deaf ears.
The victim came to the court aided as a result of the injuries she sustained during the alleged act.
According to her, “It started on a Tuesday when I went to the church for prayers. I have not been hearing clearly with my ears for sometime, so I went to the pastor for prayers and when I told him my problem, he said I should stay behind that he will pray for me after everyone has gone”.
She continued that, “After the session that day, he called me to the backyard and started praying for me. He poured anointing oil into my ear and mouth. He now ordered me to remove my dress and he poured some on my tummy and started massaging it. After sometime, he started putting his hand inside(Vagina), to which I objected. He said he will leave me if I do not want him to pray for me”.
Ijeoma narrated that as usual the pastor had asked her to stay behind, that he will conduct a special prayer for her and her hearing will be okay again.
“After the service, only he and his friend were left, he said he will take me to the house and pray for me, but when I objected and told him that my father will kill me, he said I should not mind that nothing will happen to me.
“He took me to a hotel, ran upstairs and came back and ordered me and his friend to come with him. He took us up and put his friend in another room and took me to a separate room. He ordered food for me and hot drink, to which I objected. He said the drink was part of the deliverance that I had to drink it. He forced it down my throat and when I started to feel sleepy he undressed me and inserted his ‘something’ into me; then he started pushing it in and pushing out.
“Even when blood was gushing out of me, he continued to push the ‘thing’ inside. I tried shouting but he covered my mouth, when I could not help myself, I started praying and telling him of the implication of what he was doing to me before God but he kept on”.
She said she was only freed the next morning when she regained consciousness and started banging the door of the hotel room asking for assistance.
Though Ijeoma said she complained to her mum when she got back after the first incident, her mum, Mrs Ifeoma who also spoke to DailyPost said she confronted the pastor the next day and he denied putting his hand under the girls pant, claiming he was only praying for her; a defense which led the gullible woman to accept that the pastor meant well.
She stated that the truth, however, dawned on her on the following Tuesday when her daughter went to the same church and failed to return home.
“I thought she had been kidnapped, in fact I believe this is also kidnap”, she told our reporter.
A copy of medical report issued to her by the Chief Medical Officer of Enugu Ukwu General Hospital, Dr J.O Akuka which her parents showed to our reporter revealed that she sustained bruises, and a torn hymen.
This showed that there was a penetration in her vagina.
Ijeoma’s father pleaded with the relevant authorities to help her find justice for her innocent daughter who was violated by a man she trusted to be a Man of God, as the matter is currently before a Magistrate court in Abagana.
He told our reporter that the pastor had allegedly offered him N500, 000 to keep sealed lips, an offer he rejected, but expressed fears that the pastor may use the money to subvert justice.
The pastor, Rev Otisi, who is the senior pastor of a branch of Rhema Church in Abagana refused to make comments when he was approached.
His counsel, Barr CC Achi, however, said that the matter was only being engineered by unseen hands from behind as his client occupied a land that is in dispute.
“The issue here is land dispute, but these people are being used by someone who is in tussle over a piece of land with our client. On a separate allegation of being previously charged with the rape of 8-year-old in his church, the lawyer said it was not true, adding that it was meant to paint his client in bad light.
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