An Akure Magistrates’ Family Court in Ondo State on Tuesday ordered the remand of a 55-year-old Pastor of Deeper Life Bible Church, Adetunji Obatayo, in the correctional centre, for allegedly def!ling a 14-year-old student and procuring abortion for her.
The police charged Obatayo, who is also the principal of a school in Oka Akoko, with three counts charge of defilement, unlawfully prescribing drugs to procure abortion and k!lling an unborn child of the victim in his custody.
Magistrate B.A. Alphonso, who did not take the plea of the defendant, ordered that the defendant should be remanded in the Olokuta Correctional Centre.
He directed the police to send the case file to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for advice.
The police prosecutor, Folashade Adesuyi, told the court that Obatayo committed the offence sometime in February 2020 at Epinmi-Akoko, Akoko South-East local government area of Ondo State.
Adesuyi alleged that the defendant forcefully had carnal knowledge of the 14-year-old student of his school, who had been in his custody since she was 10 years till date.
The prosecutor also alleged that the defendant unlawfully prescribed contraceptive drugs to the victim to procure a series of ab0rtions and in the process k!lled the unborn child of the victim.
The offences, according to the charge, contravened Sections 218, 230 and 328 of the Criminal Laws of Ondo State, 2006.
The prosecutor said that the victim’s confession led to the arrest of the defendant.
While addressing the court, the victim said her parents released her in 2020, to the defendant, who is the principal of her school in Oka-Akoko, when she was just 10 years old.
She told the court that her guardian, Obatayo had been having intercourse with her since then.
“Four years ago, my parents released me to live with a pastor due to his desire to train me. On my first day in his house, he forcefully had sexual intercourse with me and told me not to tell anyone about it,” she narrated.
“He had impregnated me thrice and he gave me N5,000 to buy some contraceptive drugs to abort the pregnancy after many preventive drugs
“But during the third pregnancy, he refused to give me money for the drug, and I stole his money to buy the pills
“Pastor later accused me of stealing his money for my boyfriend which later led to the arrest of a boy in our school and I informed my parents about my ordeal.”
Due to the nature of the offence, the prosecutor urged the court to remand the defendant at the correctional centre pending DPP’s advice.
Magistrate Alphonso granted the application and adjourned the matter till March 8, 2022, for trial.
She ordered that the victim be taken to the government home for rehabilitation in Oba-Ile, till further notice.
The case was adjourned till August 29, 2024, for mention.
