A Pastor has been arrested by Anambra State police for allegedly raping a 15-year-old girl.
According to The Nation, The pastor who was identified as Chukwuka is a pastor of a church in Ugama Obosi, Idemili North Local Government area of Anambra State.
The Pastor reportedly told the victim that it was a deliverance session, all in a bid to rape her.
The Police spokesperson, Haruna Mohammed, confirmed the arrest of the Pastor. He said the case has been taken over by the Public complaint response unit (PCRU) Abuja.
The 15-year-old rape victim is in SS1. She said the pastor promised to pay her outstanding school fees.
She said, “My brother who had been attending the church invited me and my mother to come and experience miracles in the church.
“After booking an appointment with us for a deliverance session the following day, I was shocked when the pastor told me that I was observing my monthly menstrual period.”
According to the 15-year-old rape victim, her mother, a petty trader, had on the fateful day, asked her to go to the pastor alone for the deliverance while she attended to her day’s business.
She said, “Immediately I got to the church, the pastor asked me to go and wait for him close to an ATM within the area.
“I actually went without suspecting any foul play, believing his intention was to cash the money for my school fees he had earlier promised to pay,”
The 15-year-old said the pastor came an hour later in his car, requesting her company to see some of his colleagues.
“On our way, I started feeling dizzy and the next place I saw myself was in a hotel room where I saw blood stains on the bed sheets.
“It was then it dawned on me that he had drugged and raped me. As I screamed and wanted to leave, he held me and insisted I should enter his car to drop me off.”
The victim said she had to join the suspect in the car since she had no money on her, adding that he pleaded with her not to disclose her ordeal to anyone, including her parents.
She however said she later had to open up to her family after several days of efforts to conceal the incident.
She said, “I was forced to open up having suffered psychological and other traumas which has been affecting my academic performance since after the incident.
“Besides, I find myself always getting moody which have made me restrict my interactions with peers.”
“I want the full weight of the law to be meted on the pastor because I know he may have been into such dirty game. He can’t go unpunished,” she narrated soberly.
Anambra Child’s Right Implementation Committee, Co-Chairman, Hope Okoye, regretted increase in rape cases in the state, calling for justice for the victim.
“We want the Child’s Right Law 2004 of Anambra state to be used against the perpetrator and his likes, irrespective of who they may be.
“The police should ensure perpetrators of wickedness against children face the law and also stop frustrating access to justice by promoting the ‘settlement’ ideology.
“It is the reason people are committing such acts as rape with impunity,”
Read also: Pastor flees after stabbing mother to death in Anambra