The Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos State, on Tuesday, sentenced a 51-year-old pastor, Nduka Anyanwu, to double life imprisonment for defiling and impregnating two biological sisters in the state.

Justice Abiola Soladoye convicted the Lagos-based pastor of impregnating a 13-year-old and a 17-year-old, both of whom have been delivered of babies.

Justice Soladoye held that the evidence of prosecution witnesses was believable and consistent.

She described the convict as morally-bankrupt, adding that the police ought to have charged the parents of the survivors alongside the convict.

The judge also described the parents as irresponsible, saying they encouraged the survivors to get defiled by the defendant.

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“On several occasions, one of the survivors went back to the parents to complain about the conduct of the defendant. She was beaten and sent back to the defendant’s home.

“The prosecution has proved the ingredients of the offences against the morally-bankrupt defendant,” Justice Soladoye said.

The judge held that the cleric should have his name written in the state’s Sexual Offenders Register.

According to the Lagos State Government, Anyanwu committed the offences on August 3, 2020, on Arowojobe Street, Oshodi, Lagos State.

The prosecution team –  Olusola Soneye, Olufunke Adegoke, and Abimbola Adegoke – called five witnesses.

The witnesses were the survivors, their parents, and a social worker, while the convict testified as the sole defence witness.

According to the prosecution, Anyanwu defiled and impregnated the sisters on the pretext of holding prayer sessions with them.

The Star