Edo State Government has arrested Bishop Gideon Osagie Osazee, a senior cleric and founder of Rollo Life of Christ Brethren Ministry, for sexually abusing two biological sisters. In addition to the sisters, four other girls from his church reportedly came forward to testify that Bishop Osazee had sexual intercourse with them.
According to reports, officials of the Edo State Government arrested Bishop Osazee after several days of laying ambush for him. The two sisters said they were 13 and 17 years old when the sexual assault occurred.
Bishop Osazee, however, denied the allegations. He said he had proposed to the elder sister with a ring for marriage, adding that she had claimed to be 21 at the time, which prompted him to buy the ring.
The eldest sister, who is now 21, described how the incident happened. “I woke up and I saw that it was my Pastor. That was how he took advantage of me. He overpowered me. One day, he told the church that he would have a midnight deliverance service for me. That night, he made me to swear an oath not to reveal about the sexual encounter and said any man that had sex with me would be stuck inside because he has a monitoring mirror,” she said.
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The younger sister supported her elder sister’s account, saying she was 13 when the accused had sexual intercourse with her.
Eugene Abdullah, the Commissioner for Women Affairs and Social Development, said other children from the church had also spoken out about sexual harassment from the suspect. She added that the case would be handed over to the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Edo State Police Command for prosecution.
Faith Edebor, of the Vivian Sexual Assault Referral Centre, said a preliminary investigation supported the victims’ claims.