That was what 18-year-old Grace allegedly told her mother when the woman threatened to drag the teenager to a hospital in Olodi Apapa area of Lagos where she had visited without her mother’s consent.
This is the story of a businesswoman and single mother of three, whose fiancé was reported to have raped her daughters and forced one of them to abort his baby.
The suspect, Prophet, Tom Henry Effeh, General Overseer of Lord Army of Fire Ministry, who is currently remanded in Kirikiri Correctional Centre, was alleged to have lured the teenagers to his house where he committed the alleged crime.
He was arrested after Justina reported the act to Crime Victims Foundation (CRIVIFON), a non-governmental organisation and a case of rape was lodged against him.
Tracing the history of her ordeal, Racheal, 40, told Saturday Sun that she started dating the suspect in 2021 after an encounter with him in his church.
“I am from Ese-Odo, Local Government area, Ondo State and I live at Akinyera street, Ibeshe, Ikorodu, Lagos. I am a single mother of three. I heard about the church when they were advertising an upcoming programme in our area. I attended the programme and met with the prophet during counselling. I explained to him all my problem and why my husband divorced me. He prayed for me and promised to marry me. I was excited that my children will have a man to call daddy in their lives. He started asking me to invest in his ministry which I did and I have given him more than two million naira.
“I have also helped him to borrow money severally from different Microfinance banks and I had to assist him in paying the money. I did not see it as an issue since we were supposed to get married. He was a man that I respected so much till I discovered the evil act he committed against my daughters.
“On August 24, 2022, two of my kids had gone to school and my eldest daughter, Grace had gone out on an errand. I decided to do a thorough clean up of the house. It was while I was arranging Grace’s corner that I discovered a hospital card with her name on it. I became alarmed when I noticed that the surname was Henry instead of their real father’s name. I also noticed that the hospital is located in Olodi Apapa area.
“As soon as she returned, I confronted her and she lied. I dragged her that we were going to the hospital to confirm and she decided to open up. She told me that it was the Prophet that took her to the clinic for an abortion. She claimed that the Prophet had been forcefully having sex with her from the day I sent her to his house in 2021. I screamed and started beating her for not telling me. Then my 14-year-old daughter walked into the room.
“She also confessed that she was also raped by the Prophet the day I sent her to sweep his house. They told me that they refused to speak out because the prophet showed them a room in his house where he kept a mirror and can kill them. It was when I discovered that I cannot get justice by simply reporting him to the police that I ran to CRIVFON to help me,” she alleged.
On why she allowed her young daughters to visit the Prophet alone, Racheal said that before the incident, she assumed that the prophet was a responsible man. She said: “I was dating him and my children call him daddy. I never imagined that a father will rape his own daughter. I already told my children that the prophet will be their new father and they should learn to serve him. This was why I agreed when he asked me to send them over to clean his house.”
How it started
According to Grace who was 17 when the act started, the Prophet allegedly flung her on the bed when she refused to consent to the act. “It all started in September 2021,He called my mother to send me to his house to help him clean his apartment. I was so happy to go because my mother had already told us that he is our daddy and he had been buying gifts for us.
“He asked me to sweep the sitting room and mop it. There are two rooms under lock and he asked me to clean his personal room. When I entered his room, he was sitting at a corner of the room. I assumed that he does not trust me, and that it was the reason he choose to watch me clean the room.
“He suddenly stood up and came close to me and whispered to my ears if he is not good enough to be my husband.
“I reminded him that he is engaged to my mother and that I normally call him dad. He got angry and grabbed me and threw me on the bed. He raped me and threatened to kill me if I told anyone what happened. He told me that two rooms that were locked are his shrine and he will invoke the spirit to kill or paralyse me,” she alleged.
Back home, Grace claimed that she kept the secret to herself and asked God for forgiveness. “I was devastated and scared to die. I stayed away from his church till my mother asked me to go to his house again. I refused and she kept insisting. I called the prophet to leave me alone and he threatened to kill me if I didn’t come. This was how he kept sending for me whenever he felt like it, till I got pregnant. I told him about the pregnancy and he told me not to worry, that he would get it aborted without any trace.
“On March 10, he asked me to come to Olodi Apapa and he took me to a clinic where the abortion was done. He still continued having sex with me after the abortion till my mother found out about it herself,” she further alleged.
On her part, 15-year-old Mary said she was relieved when their mother learnt about it. She said: “I was just back from school when I heard my mother shouting at my sister. I entered the room and discovered that my sister was also a victim. I immediately told my mother that I was also defiled by the man in September 2021 when she sent me to clean his house.
“I was sweeping when he pushed me on the bed and tore my clothes. I started screaming and crying. He told me to stop shouting, that no one would hear my voice. He raped me and I told him that I would tell my mother. He threatened me that he was going to send evil spirits in that his locked room in the night to kill me.
“When I was about to go home, he gave me one of his jackets to put on and I went home. When I got home, I pulled the jacket and threw it away. The second time when my mother travelled, he threatened me to come to his house. I went and he tried to rape me again and I told him that I would report him the second time. So, he said if I should go to one of the rooms that he locked, that there is a mirror there where he normally sees everything in the world.
“So, when my mom got back from her travel, I was hoping that something would push me to tell her but because of the threat, I kept my mouth shut. I was still scared until my mother saw the hospital card of my sister, Grace. She saw the prophet’s name on the card, it was while my mother was screaming at my sister that I opened up and told her the truth. This incident started in September 24, 2021 when I was 14. I am very happy that the hospital card was found because no one would have believed my story.”
On their intervention, the founder of CRIVFON, Gloria Egbuji stated that the NGO was created to assist crime victims and to work with relevant institutions and organisations, particularly the Criminal Justice Agency, the police and the Civil Society. “We have seasoned lawyers assigned to every case and this will not be an exception. We are grateful to God that the mother found that hospital document and on time.”
Confirming the incident, the state police spokesman Benjamin Hyundeyin, a Superintendent of Police said the suspect had been arrested and charged to court. He called on Lagosians to learn to speak up and on time to avert such continuous abuse.
SOURCE:THE SUN NEWSPAPER
No comments:
Post a Comment