Police Arrest Anambra Pastor For Raping 7-year Old Girl
By Nedum Noble
Loading ...A middle aged pastor has been arrested by the police in Anambra for allegedly defilling a 7-year old girl in Nodu village, Okpuno, Awka South local government area of the state.
The suspect, popularly called Bro. Solomon, was said to be in charge of a prayer ministry where hundreds of worshipers throng to seek for solutions to their spiritual problems.
247ureports.com gathered that the suspect was apprehended following an alarm raised by residents of the area who became suspicious of his sexual harassments with the innocent female members.
The victim, a daughter to one of the members of the ministry, was said to have been taken to the church for prayers by her mother when she was sexually abused by the suspect.
Some residents of the area where the ministry is located told our correspondent that members of the church, predominately women came from different parts of the state for prayers every first Friday and Saturday of each month.
They alleged that the suspect had severally taken advantage of the young ladies and children who come for special prayers to have canal knowledge with them.
They called for full investigation into the matter in order to bring the culprit to book to serve as deterrent to other fake pastors.
One of them, who simply identified himself as Edward, said he was shocked at the arrest of the suspect by the police who took him to his prayer house where all kinds of charms and fetish objects were discovered.
Loading ...“This man is not a pastor at all. Native doctor is even far better than him. See the kind of things discovered in a prayer house,” he said.
He called on government to investigate the prolifiration of so-called prayer ministries across the state in order to put a stop to such ugly incidences.
Another resident, Clara Ezenwa, described the incident as sacrilegious, calling on human rights organizations to follow up the matter to ensure the victim got justice.
“Disvirgining a girl of that age is an abomination. The poor girl may not have rich parents that may be willing to pursue the case. So the Civil Society organizations and law enforcement agencies should make sure justice is done to the case,” she stressed.
A member of the church, who did not want her name on print, said she was attracted to the ministry by the preaching and outstanding miracles being performed by the suspect.
“I started attending the ministry because of the miracles and preaching of the pastor. I only come here on Fridays because I still attend my church on Sundays,” she said.
She said the church, which has another branch within the same area, was preparing for a special prayer summit on Friday before their pastor was arrested.
Confirming the incident, the state Commissioner of Police, Garba Umar, said the victim had been taken to the hospital for proper medical attention.
He promised to carry out full investigation to ensure justice was done.
“A little girl who was taken to a pastor for spiritual healing was molested by the same pastor. The man had already been arrested. Anybody who engages in such dastardly act must be dealt with according to the law,” he assured.
He however adviced parents to be careful of where they take their wards to in search of spiritual solution.
