The Lagos State
Police Command has arrested a 42-year-old cleric, Pastor Chidiebere Ikpa, for
allegedly raping his stepdaughter, Ngozi
(pseudonym), in the Surulere area of
the state.
Ikpa, who denied
the allegation, told PUNCH Metro that it was a neighbour, whom he
identified only as Richard, that defiled the 14-year-old girl, but he decided
not to report the matter to the police because he (Ikpa) had a forgiving
character.
However, Ngozi, a
Senior Secondary class 2 pupil, who eventually reported the incident to the
police last Friday, January 15, insisted that she was raped by the pastor on
several occasions.
She added that
whenever she told her mother about it, she usually shouted her down, and
refused to take any action on the matter.
Our correspondent
learnt that Ikpa, who hails from the Bende Local Government Area of Abia State,
was arrested by policemen from the Isokoko division, while Ngozi was taken for
medical examination at the Mirabel Centre, Ikeja.
The test
reportedly confirmed that the girl’s private parts had been “tampered with.”
A police source
told PUNCH Metro that Ngozi reported that Ikpa had allegedly been
sleeping with her since she was 10 years old and was the one who deflowered
her.
She said, “The
victim claimed that the suspect deflowered her when she was 10 years. He had
allegedly been sexually molesting the girl since that time.
“The victim’s
mother is culpable because she knew about the abuses. The girl said it was when
her mother failed to take concrete steps that she came to the police.”
Speaking with PUNCH
Metro, the pastor said he flogged the girl last Thursday and she
disappeared from the house, not knowing she came to the police to lie against
him.
He said, “The girl
started living with me when she was 12 or thereabout. That was around 2012. It
is not true that I raped her. I flogged her on Thursday for being rude and she
did not return home after school. We did not see her until Friday. She had been
with the police.
“The girl has a
boyfriend; his name is Richard. He is the manager of a hotel on Rasak Balogun
Street. If the medical result shows someone has been sleeping with Ngozi, then
it is Richard, not me.
“It is a mystery
to me that the girl is claiming that I slept with her. When we caught Richard
and confronted him sometime last year, he started begging. The mistake I made
was that I did not report to the police.
“My wife got
furious and said we must report the matter to the police, but the man started
begging, sending text messages to me. I forgave him. I am a pastor.
“I was working
under a church, but since I moved to this area, I have not pastored any
church.”
The victim, Ngozi,
told our correspondent that Ikpa was lying and he had slept with her on several
occasions.
She said, “The
first time that he would rape me was about five years ago. My mother sent me to
give food to him in his own house. I was then staying in my father’s house.
That was when he took advantage of me and raped me.
“The man he
mentioned is not my boyfriend. Richard was the man I reported to when I told my
mother about the rape and she did not believe me. Richard advised me to leave
everything to God.
“Sometimes, when
everyone was sleeping, he would come to the room where I was with my other
sisters and he would rape me. I would be hitting my sisters trying to wake
them, but they did not wake at such times.”
The Lagos State
Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the pastor’s
arrest.
She said, “The
pastor’s arrest is confirmed. He was transferred from FESTAC to the Isokoko
division for prosecution.”
Source: Punch Newspaper.
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