The Anambra Police Command has arrested a middle-aged pastor for allegedly defiling a seven-year-old girl in Nodu village, Okpuno near Awka in Awka South Local Government Area of the state.
The suspect, popularly called Bro Solomon by the locals, has a prayer ministry where hundreds of worshipers throng to seek for solutions to their spiritual problems.
It was gathered that the suspect was apprehended following an alarm raised by residents of the area who became suspicious of his sexual harassment with the innocent members.
The victim, a daughter to one of the members of the ministry, was said to have been taken to the church for prayers by her mother when she was sexually abused by the suspect.
One of the residents, who simply identified himself as Edward, said that 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 even far better than him. See the kind of things discovered in a prayer house,” the man said.
He called on the government to investigate the proliferation of prayer ministries across the state to stop such ugly incidences.
Another resident, Clara Ezenwa, described the incident as sacrilegious and called on human rights organizations to follow up the matter to ensure the victim got justice.
“Disvirgining a girl of that age is an abomination. The poor girl may not have rich parents that may be willing to pursue the case. So the Civil Society organizations and law enforcement agencies should make sure justice is done to the case,” she stressed.
Also a member of the church, who did not want her name on print, said that she was attracted to the ministry by the preaching and outstanding miracles being performed by the suspect.
She narrated: “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.”
According to her, the church, which has another branch within the same area, was preparing for a special prayer summit on Friday before their pastor was arrested.
The state Commissioner of Police, Garba Umar, said that the victim had been taken to the hospital for proper medical attention.
He promised to carry out full investigation to ensure justice was done.
“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,” the CP assured.
He advised parents to be careful of where they take their wards to in search of spiritual solution.
