An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence court on Friday sentenced founder of iReign Christian Ministry, Feyi Daniels, to life imprisonment for “raping a church member”.
The trial judge, Rahman Oshodi, 8found the Lagos-based cleric guilty of rape and sexual assault of a female worshipper in his church in 2020.
In this report, News Corespondent highlights the major timelines of the rape incidents involving the young pastor.
1. Before Friday’s life imprisonment verdict, Daniels was said to have raped an assistant female pastor at his house in the Lekki area of Lagos State.
2. The victim (name withheld) was based in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, but was summoned to the Lagos headquarters of the church where the incident happened. According to her, Daniels punished her for not attending a meeting by ordering her to his house in Lekki for the punishment, and when she got there, she ordered that she put off her clothes because he wanted to beat her.
3. Recounting her rape experience, she said, “The following day, we were in the sitting room listening to a pastor’s message when he said I should go naked again. I did, and surprisingly, he also went naked and raped me for about 30 minutes till I started bleeding because of the tears I sustained despite not being a virgin.”
4. The victim reported the case in 2022 at the FCID Alagbon, Lagos, leading to the arrest of pastor Daniels.
Lagos orders Daniels’ arrest
5. On March 2023, the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions, Ministry of Justice, ordered the arraignment of Daniels for the alleged rape of an assistant pastor of the church and another lady.
6. The Director of the DSVRT, Lola Vivour-Adeniyi, said the agency was waiting for the case to be assigned to the right court. She noted that three ladies were involved in the matter, adding that while two reported to the agency, the third lady reported to the police.
Daniels arrested but absent in arraignment
7. Following the complaint of the victim, Daniels was arrested and detained for six days before he was eventually released.
8. In April 2023, Daniels was meant to show up in the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court but failed to show up, and when the lead investigator showed up in his residence, he had relocated without notice.
Daniels testifies in court
9. On October 21, 2023, Daniels took to the witness box in his own defence and testified that he believed that three out of the four women who accused him of sexually assaulting them conspired to turn against him.
10. While answering questions under cross-examination, the prosecution’s lead counsel, Babajide Boye, sought to establish that the defendant, Bishop Daniels, had a ‘personal relationship’ with the four women.
Court sentences Daniels to life imprisonment
11. Daniels was today (January 26) sentenced to life imprisonment for “raping a church member”.
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