A magistrate court in Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State capital has remanded at a prison facility a cleric who allegedly lured and slept with a sickle cell patient for five years.
The cleric, Samuel Onyeagoziri, is the general overseer of Champions of the Truth Church, otherwise known as Champions Cathedral, in the capital city.
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The sickle cell patient had accused the cleric of deceiving her into having sex with him as a way of helping her to get healing from her condition.
Arraignment and remand
Mr Onyeagoziri was arraigned before the court on Tuesday on four-count charge of rape, threats to life, fraud, and circulation of pornographic materials.
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The Commissioner of Police in Ebonyi State, Antonia Uche-Anya, personally brought the cleric to the court.
The police prosecutor told the court that Mr Onyeagoziri allegedly raped the female victim in 2021 at Mile 50 Layout in Abakaliki.
The police further alleged that the cleric obtained consent of the victim by means of threats, false and fraudulent representations.
He argued that the defendant therefore committed an offence punishable under Section 358 of the Criminal Code, Cap 33 Vol. 1, Laws of Ebonyi State, Nigeria.
The police prosecutor also told the court that Mr Onyeagoziri allegedly threatened the victim’s life with a gun, which he said was in violation of Section 12(1) (a) (b) of the Ebonyi State Internal Security Enforcement and Related Matters Law, 2009.
The cleric, according to the police, further allegedly sent pornographic messages via computer systems to the victim, contrary to Section 24(2)(i) of the Cybercrimes (Prohibition, Prevention, etc.) Act 2015, as amended in 2024.
The prosecutor also accused the defendant of emotionally and psychologically abusing the victim by circulating her nude photographs on social media, contrary to Section 20(1) of the Ebonyi State Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2018, as amended in 2024.
After the charges were read out, the Presiding Magistrate, Nkechi Chima of Court 2 Abakaliki, ordered the remand of the cleric.
Ms Chima stressed that the offences were outside the jurisdiction of the magistrate court.
She also directed that the original case file, evidence, and all related documents be transferred to the Department of Public Prosecution for further legal action.
Background
The alleged victim while appearing as a guest in a podcast claimed the cleric had been sleeping with her since 2021 while she was still a secondary school student.
She narrated that she was introduced to the cleric when she sought help for her sickle cell condition which she lamented had led to the death of three of her siblings.
Ms Ede said her parents were desperate to save her from a similar fate when they were introduced to the cleric, apparently for “spiritual solution.”
According to her, the cleric promised healing but insisted that the only “remedy” was for her to sleep with him for seven consecutive days.
The victim, then a virgin in senior secondary school 3, said she reluctantly agreed out of fear for her life and in the hope for healing.
She further alleged in the podcast that she wanted to leave the cleric’s house after her condition did not change but the cleric resisted her, threatening her with a rifle.
According to her, the cleric had refused to delete her nude photographs and video clips which he took after forcing her to pose for the shots.
The photographs and video clips later leaked and then went viral on social media thereafter.
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