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Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The Rivers State Police Command has confirmed the arrest of a pastor of Gracious Covenant Church, identified simply as Pillar, for allegedly defiling and impregnating a 15-year-old girl in Ndele community, Emohua Local Government Area of the state.
Pillar’s arrest followed a complaint by an in-law of the victim, Amesi ThankGod, who said the minor and her mother were members of the pastor’s church.
He explained that the minor usually goes to the church to relax whenever her mother goes to the farm, but as time went on, the minor started behaving strangely.
“If her mother goes to the farm, the girl normally goes to the church to relax and returns in the evening. But in the last few days, the girl started vomiting. My wife, who is the victim’s elder sister, took her for a medical examination and the result showed she is pregnant,” he said.
Following the discovery, ThankGod said his wife took her sister to Pillar to confront him with the allegation, adding that the pastor admitted that he was responsible for the pregnancy and allegedly pleaded with the girl’s sister to allow him to get rid of the pregnancy, but the family objected.
“But he (pastor) said they should give her some drugs to flush the pregnancy so that the girl will be free. But if we allow that the girl may die and we have ourselves to blame,” ThankGod added.
He said the matter was reported to a vigilance group that handed the suspect over to the Rumuji Police Division.
The Rivers State Police Command spokesperson, Grace Iringe-Koko, confirmed the incident in a short statement.
“We are aware of the incident. The suspect has been arrested and the investigation is ongoing,” she said.