Pastor Accused Of Sexually Assaulting, Raping 20-Year-Old Woman In Nigeria

A pastor from Jesus Alive Word Refiners International Church, Port Harcourt is under investigation for the alleged rape of a 20-year-old woman.

He was identified as Pastor Tony Daniel after a rape case was reported to the human rights advocacy group, Centre for Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign.

According to the victim whose name was not revealed, Pastor Daniel allegedly raped her violently and got help from two others - a choir mistress and a female church member. Aside from that, the pastor allegedly gave her a substance (believed to be “juju”) after the incident to make sure she would not reveal the ordeal.

“Twenty One Year Old Lady has reported to Centre For Basic Rights Protection And Accountability Campaign how a Choir mistress and a Female Church member held her while the Pastor of a new generation church in Port Harcourt,Rivers,Nigeria raped her violently and gave her substance suspected to be 'juju' after the incident to swear that she will not tell anybody,” their Facebook post read.

The incident went down after the victim was reportedly invited by the pastor to settle issues that the woman had with his wife.

Based on records, it appears this was not the first time that the pastor had been embroiled in a sexual scandal.

On Mar. 19, 2020, Pastor Daniel was detained at the Azikiwe Divisional Police headquarters following a complaint from a certain Ndidi Austin. It appears he caught his wife in a hotel with the pastor at that time. Pastor Daniel denied the allegations.

A member of the group Barrister Festus Bonwin has reportedly filed a petition seeking an investigation into the case against Pastor Daniel on behalf of the victim. The group is also seeking police protection for the victim.

When asked for comment, the pastor’s wife said it was all a frame-up. Per her statement, they had allegedly told the victim to pay for the light bill and refused. She added that the woman vowed that she would go to any length to deal with them.