A High Court in Ado-Ekiti has sentenced a pastor named Enoch Ebinyiam to life in prison on Thursday 13th June for the rape of a minor in Ekiti State.
The court determined that the case against the preacher, who was affiliated with the Winner Chapel Church in Omuo-Ekiti, had been proven beyond a reasonable doubt, and on Thursday it sentenced him accordingly.
It was discovered that during one of the victim’s trips to the vicarage, the pastor allegedly sexually assaulted her. The victim was a worshipper’s daughter.
The girl was reported to regularly visit the mission house to assist the pastor’s wife with household duties and to assist his small children with their schoolwork.
During one of her stays in the vicarage, the convict used a sleeping potion-laced Fanta bottle to put her to sleep. The girl fell asleep, and when she woke up, she saw that she was drenched in blood from her intimate areas. The prisoner was taken into custody and charged in court. In violation of section 2 of the Gender-Based Violence (Prohibition) Law, 2019, he was accused of rape.
In order to support his case, Julius Ajibade, the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), who was in charge of the prosecution on behalf of Ekiti State, called four witnesses and submitted two exhibits.
The prisoner only called one additional witness, speaking through his defence attorney, Adeyinka Opaleke. Judge Olusegun Ogunyemi declared in his ruling that the prosecution had established the defendant’s rape guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
As a result, the judge found the defendant guilty and gave him a life sentence.
