20-year-old girl accuses Rivers pastor of rape

A 20-year-old girl (names withheld) has accused a pastor of a new generation church in Port Harcourt, Jesus Alive Word Refiners INTL Church, of conspiring with a choir member of his church and one other accomplice to rape her.

The victim, who protested in front of the church on Wednesday, said the pastor and two of others invited her to a place around Wepey junction, Ikwerre road in Port Harcourt, pretending that they wanted to resolve issues they were having with the pastor’s wife.

The victim, who is a hair stylist, said she obliged to meet them after one of her friend who is also her customer told her that the pastor’s wife will also be in the meeting.

The victim stated that she noticed the place was a guest house upon arrival but was not suspicious of anything since her friend was in the place.

The 20-year-old lady alleged that few minutes after she got inside the room, the pastor locked the door and increased the volume of the television set while he raped her.

The victim alleged that the pastor and his accomplice forced her to swear an oath with a substance suspected to be ‘juju’ not to reveal to anybody what transpired in the place.

The victim said that she protested in front of the church to draw the attention to the alleged continuous harassment and threat she is facing in the hands of the pastor even after the rape incident.

Barrister Festus Bonwin, a Lawyer with human rights advocacy group, Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability, campaign told our correspondent that the group petitioned the Police in Rivers State, to demand  a thorough investigation into the allegation.

Barrister Bonwin said the group is also asking that the Police to provide adequate security for the alleged 20-year-old victim as feelers indicate that there are threats against from some quarters.

Efforts to speak with the pastor were unsuccessful as his phone was unavailable at the time of filing this report.

(Daily Trust)