Policemen in
Anambra State have arrested a middle-aged pastor, popularly called Bro.
Solomon, for allegedly defiling a seven-year-old girl in Nodu village, Okpuno,
Awka South Local Government Area of the state.
Bro. Solomon
was said to be in charge of a prayer ministry where hundreds of worshipers,
mostly women, gather to seek solutions to their spiritual, marital and other
problems.
It was
gathered that the victim was a daughter to one of the members of the ministry,
brought by her mother to the church for prayers before she was sexually abused
by the suspect.
Confirming
the incident yesterday, the Commissioner of Police, Garba Umar, said the victim
had been taken to the hospital for proper medical attention, while
investigation is ongoing.
Umar said:
“A little girl who was taken to a pastor for spiritual healing was molested by
the same pastor. The man had already been arrested. Anybody who engages in such
dastardly act must be dealt with according to the law. We will carry out full
investigation into the matter to ensure justice is done.”
The police
boss, however, cautioned parents and guardians to be careful of where they take
their wards to in search of spiritual solution, warning that some people are
wolves in sheep’s clothing, deceiving their members.
He said the
suspect was arrested following the alarm raised by residents of the area who
became suspicious of his sexual harassments with church members.
Some members
of the church and residents in separate interviews told The Guardian that the
pastor’s activities became suspicious as a result of several allegations making
the rounds against the ‘man of God’. They called on government to investigate
the proliferation of prayer ministries across the state in order to put a stop
to such incidences
One of the
residents, who simply identified himself as Edward, said he was shocked at the
arrest of the suspect by the police who took him to his prayer house where all
kinds of charms and fetish objects were discovered.
“This man is
not a pastor at all. Native doctor is far better than him. See the kind of
things discovered in a prayer house,” he said.
Chiamanam
Johnson, who claimed to have been an old member of the ministry, expressed
disappointment at the event, saying it has exposed the man’s behind the scenes
activities. He described the incident as sacrilegious.
Another
member of the church, who spoke on grounds of anonymity, said she was attracted
to the ministry by the preaching and outstanding miracles being performed by
the suspect. “I started attending the ministry because of the miracles and
preaching of the pastor. I only come here on Fridays because I still attend my
church on Sundays.”
Meanwhile,
the police command in Plateau State has arrested three men for allegedly raping
a 14-year-old girl. Presenting the suspects to newsmen in Jos, the Commissioner
of Police, Mr. Undie Adie, said the incident took place on January 23 and the
case was reported to the Angwan Rogo Division by mother of the victim on
January 26. He said the suspects conspired with one, Yahaya, and dragged the
girl into his room.
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