An assistant female pastor has testified before a court, sharing her initial encounter with Bishop Daniels, on May 28, 2018, when he visited Akure for a church event.
After his visit, she later became a member of the church and was eventually made assistant pastor.
The victim testified that on June 21, 2020, Daniels summoned her to the Lagos church to be punished for missing a ministers’ conference and failing to transcribe some of his audio teachings.
He then allegedly ordered her to undress, claiming he wanted to have sex with her as proof of her loyalty.
After she refused, Daniels reportedly raped her, ignoring her pleas and telling her to “shut up.”
Narrating the ordeal she said, “He pinned me against a three-seater couch and raped me. He was bigger than me and I was bleeding from my private part.
“I was begging him but he didn’t listen. I told him I was bleeding, he said he knew and that I should shut up.
“When he was done, he ordered me to go and wash up immediately. He collected my phone and cleaned the blood before I came out. He said I should not tell anybody and that the day I tell anyone, I will run mad.”
A day after the incident happened, the victim managed to send a coded message to her pastor via Whatsapp, who initially thought it was a joke.
Two days later, Daniels raped her again, threatening her with death if she revealed the incident.
She added, “On June 23, I was planning how to leave and when I came out of the room, he was tying a red towel and he said I should even be happy that he raped me, that he told me he wanted to have sex with me and I rejected him.
“He said people would have been happy that he had sex with them. He took off my clothes and raped me again. He told me that I would die if I tell anyone.
“I bled the second time and he ordered me again to go and take my bath and ordered me back into the room. I immediately sent a message to Pastor Oladejo that the bishop had raped me again.”
The defendant took the victim to a hospital in Lekki, instructing her to tell the doctor who was a member of the church that she was raped by her boyfriend.
The trial will continue on May 24 and 25.
Reuben Abati
