The Federal Capital Territory, FTC, High Court sitting at Gudu, presided over by Justice Adebiyi Osolo, has sentenced the founder and Bishop of a popular church in Abuja, Bishop Kenneth Duke, to 20 years’ imprisonment without an option of fine for rape.
The 52-year-old convict, an indigene of Cross River State, was dragged to court by the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons, NAPTIP, for allegedly raping a 12-year-old daughter of one of the church members, who was entrusted to the care of his family.
NAPTIP, meanwhile, said it had rescued nine pregnant girls at a suspected baby factory located in one of the sprawling estates in the Ushafa area of Abuja.
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The convict was arraigned in court on November 2, 2023, on a two-count charge of rape and intentionally causing emotional and phycological abuse to the victim.
According to the charge, in March 2023, the convict, who lives behind the Dantata Construction Company, Dakwa, Abuja, raped the victim, thereby committing an offence punishable under the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015.
The victim, an indigene of Ondo State, was living in Lagos before she was brought to Abuja to live with her mother.
The charge narrated that on March 5, 2023, the victim’s mother took her to the church located at Dantata Zuba Expressway and that after the service, she was taken to the Bishop’s family house to stay with them to enable the Bishop’s wife take her to where she would learn a skill, following an agreement earlier reached by both families.
However, the following day, being March 6, 2023, the father of five (bishop), according to the charge, sent his children on an errand, leaving him with the victim alone in the house. About 10a.m., the Bishop reportedly gave the victim some Mathematics work to solve, only to allegedly rape her as she was solving it.
The court found the cleric guilty of a one-count charge of rape and sentenced him accordingly, to 20 years imprisonment without an option of fine.
NAPTIP rescues 9 pregnant girls from baby factory
In another development, NAPTIP has rescued nine pregnant girls from a suspected baby factory in the Ushafa area of Abuja.
The victims, according to the agency’s National Public Relations Officer, Vincent Adekoya, “were locked up in a rented apartment inside the estate by a yet-to-be-identified human trafficking agent after recruiting them through an online platform.
“The raid on the facility by operatives of NAPTIP followed a tip-off by a concerned citizen who noticed the unusual situation and movement around the area.”
(Vanguard)