Court remands Lagos pastor for alleged rape of teenager
The Chief Magistrates’ Court sitting in Ikeja, on Thursday remanded 50-year-old Pastor Lawrence Omoniyi in Kirikiri Correctional Centre for sexually abused a 15-year-old girl.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the Chief Magistrate, Mrs Bola Osunsanmi, who rejected the defendant’s plea, adjourned the case until April 18 for the advice of the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The defendant, whose church name is being withheld, resides at 4, Orisunbare St., off Tapa Road, Isawo Ikorodu, Lagos, the same house with the said 15-year-old victim.
Omoniyi is being tried for defilement, an offence the prosecutor said it contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State.
The Prosecutor, ASP Raji Akeem, told the court that the offence was committed between 2020 and December 2022 at the defendant’s resident.
The prosecutor claimed that the girl confided in one of her sisters that the defendant had carnal knowledge of her in the last two years.
The prosecutor said the defendant allegedly threatened to kill the victim if she ever disclosed to anyone.