A 51-year-old pastor, Nduka Anyanwu, has been sentenced to life imprisonment by an Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic and Violence Court for defiling and impregnating two teenage sisters.
Delivering judgment, the trial judge, Justice Abiola Soladoye, held that the prosecution had proved the three ingredients of defilement against the defendant, and therefore convicted and sentenced him accordingly.
The judge noted that the three ingredients included the fact that the child was underage, the defendant had sexual intercourse with the victim and the consent of the child was not sought.
She said,”I am convinced of the evidence led that the defendant is guilty as charged for the offence of defilement.
”Nduka Anyawu, you are hereby sentenced to life imprisonment, in respect of count one and count two.
“The sentence is to run concurrently, his name should be registered in the Lagos State offenders’ register.”
Justice Soladoye further took a swipe at the role of the police, as well as the parents of the victims in the matter.
“The police shied away from their responsibility by not charging the father of the victims along with the defendant.
“The parents of these victims are highly irresponsible and reckless in their parenting.
“The negligence of their children has contributed to them now being grandparents of two additional mouths to feed. They should have been sanctioned and brought to justice.
“The parents of these two victims, who are biological sisters, acted irresponsibly by allowing their so-called pastor friend to deceive them that he will help them take their children abroad when the defendant cannot even help himself,” the judge added.
Periscope International recalls that the convict was earlier arraigned on April 17, 2022, by the Lagos State Government on the two counts of defilement.
He had pleaded not guilty upon his arraignment, following which the trial commenced and ended on October 11, 2022.
The offence is said to be punishable under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
The prosecution had called six witnesses, while the defendant testified as his sole witness.
Anyanwu had committed the crime between 2019 and August 2020 at Arowojobe Street, in the Oshodi area of the state.
During the trial, the first prosecution witness testified that though she was now 15 years old, she was 13 years old at the time of her defilement.
According to her, the convict was the pastor of their church and he had been having sex with her and had warned her not to tell anyone.
She also submitted that the defendant said she would not get pregnant, but she eventually got pregnant and had a child for the defendant.
Corroborating the submission of the second prosecution witness, her elder sister now 19-year-old, but was 17-year-old, at the time of the incident, confirmed that Anyanwu was their pastor.
According to her, Anyanwu had sexual intercourse with her with the consent of her parents, adding that he used to take her abroad for “greener pastures.”
In his submission before the court, the victims’ father said that he was a friend of the pastor and also a member of his church.
He stressed that he was aware that Pastor Anyanwu was having regular sex with his daughters, and was responsible for his two daughters’ pregnancies.
However, the mother of the victims had in her evidence, claimed that she was shocked when she found out that her two daughters were impregnated by the same man.
The convict had claimed during his trial before the court that it was the father of the victims who gave him the second victim as a wife following which they had been having legitimate matrimonial conjugal relationship.
