An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court on Thursday sentenced a 63-year-old pastor, Chris Mcdouglas to life imprisonment for raping his 18-year-old church member’s daughter, (name withheld).

Justice Rahman Oshodi sentenced Mcdouglas, a pastor at the Peculiar Generation Assembly Church, Lagos, to life imprisonment after he found him guilty of rape.

The judge, however, discharged him of six-count-charge out of the nine-count-charge, bothering on defilement, sexual assault, indecent treatment of a child brought against him by the Lagos State Government.

Oshodi, in his judgment on Thursday, held that the prosecution had successfully proved the charge of rape against the pastor.

Oshodi described the offence as a grave betrayal of trust that left the survivor with lasting psychological trauma.

The court found that the cleric, regarded within his congregation as a “spiritual father” exploited his position of authority to sexually abuse the survivor.

According to the court, the abuse is not an isolated incident but part of a pattern of manipulation and coercion.

Evidence before the court showed that the survivor reported the incident to the police shortly after it occurred, leading to an investigation and eventual prosecution.

“The impact on the victim has been devastating, particularly given the trust reposed in you as a religious leader.

“This court reject any suggestion that the relationship was consensual as the victim was a minor at the time the incident happened and she cannot give valid consent.

“Testimony also revealed that the victim’s mother confronted the cleric at the church after learning of the abuse, further underscoring the breach of moral and spiritual responsibility,” Oshodi said.

During the trial, the court heard evidence of the devastating impact the abuse had on the victim.

She reportedly suffered depression and experienced recurring suicidal thoughts, pointing to the lasting emotional damage caused by the incident.

The court scrutinised testimonial, medical and electronic evidence presented by the prosecution, alongside objections raised by the defence under the Evidence Act 2011.

The defence had urged the court to reject a medical report and related police referral documents, arguing non-compliance with statutory provisions.

The court agreed in part, holding that certain documents were improperly admitted and should be discountenanced.

However, it ruled that the oral testimony of the medical expert remained admissible and could stand independently.

Citing precedent, the judge held that expert testimony may still carry weight even where accompanying documentation is flawed.

The court found credible and corroborated evidence supporting allegations of abuse at a family residence and a hotel between September and December 2017.

“The victim gave a detailed account of an initial incident in September 2017, describing how she was a drugged and raped by the defendant and her testimony was corroborated with her mother’s, who observed physical distress shortly after the incident.

“The defendant also confirmed to the court that he took the survivor to hotels on several occasions,” Oshodi said.

The court consequently convicted the pastor on the charge of rape and sentenced him to life imprisonment.

The court also ordered that the convict’s name should be written in Lagos State Sexual Offences Register.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the prosecution, led by the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), Dr Babajide Martins, called five witnesses while Defence Counsel, Mr Yusuf Nurudeen also called five witnesses during trial. (NAN)

…Mbah: Why we allocated 50% of Enugu budgets to health and education in 3 years

The Medical and Health Workers’ Union of Nigeria (MHWUN) has presented an Award of Distinguished Leadership and Outstanding Contributions to Healthcare Delivery to Enugu State Governor, Dr. Peter Mbah, describing him as a leader who has made “a real and measurable difference in the lives of health workers and the citizens of Enugu State.”

The award was presented to the Governor by the National President of MHWUN on behalf of the Enugu State Council of MHWUN and union representatives at Government House, Enugu, on Wednesday evening.

The Union predicated the award on what it described as massive infrastructural transformation in the health sector, including the construction of 260 Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centres across the 260 political wards of the state, the nearly completed 300-bed ultramodern Enugu International Hospital, and the revamping of secondary healthcare facilities.

They also hailed the governor for extensive reforms in the health sector and the turnaround in the welfare of health workers in the state.

“In the area of health workers’ welfare, which is of direct and critical interest to our union, Your Excellency approved the full, 100 per cent, implementation of the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) for medical and health workers, a long overdue step that has brought relief and dignity to our workers.

“Your government also approved a consequential adjustment for Enugu State workers, a gesture that has given our members the encouragement to be more productive and dedicated to their work.

“You recruited 2,500 health workers to address identified personnel deficits and have sustained training and capacity building programmes to sharpen the competences of existing staff.

“Equally noteworthy is the prompt and consistent payment of salaries, an act that may seem routine in an ideal world, but which, in the Nigerian reality, represents exceptional governance and compassion,” the Union stated.

The workers commended Governor Mbah for strengthening immunisation programmes, expanding antenatal and family planning services for women, and introducing free daily balanced meals for 300,000 schoolchildren in the Smart Green Schools.

They noted that Mbah’s “uncommon transformation” in the health and education sectors has attracted the partnership of the World Health Organisation (WHO), both of whom have publicly commended his commitment to health sector reform and investments.

“These are not merely domestic accolades; they are global endorsements of your leadership,” the Union added.

The State Chairman of the Enugu State chapter of MHWUN, Dr. Nnenna Oraedu, pledged the health workers’ continued partnership and cooperation with the Mbah administration in pursuit of a healthier, more prosperous Enugu State.

Speaking, Governor Mbah said his administration was well aware of the central place of a healthy population and workforce in his drive to grow Enugu State’s economy from $4.4 billion to $30 billion.

Consequently, he said the administration had budgeted/spent over 50 per cent of the state’s total budget in three budgetary cycles on education and health.

“We looked at our maternal mortality, infant mortality and under-five mortality rates, we knew immediately that we needed to address the preventive medical subsector aggressively, which was why we constructed 260 Type 2 Primary Healthcare Centres across the 260 wards.

“Just this morning, we approved a sum of about N4 billion to equip an additional 100 primary healthcare centres. We are going to add an additional 100 to what is currently operational, taking the number to about 200 fully operational primary healthcare centres. We hope that before the end of May, the 260 Type-2 Primary Healthcare Centres will be fully operational,” he stated.

He said that his administration was spending heavily on transforming the Enugu State University Teaching Hospital, Park Lane, the State University of Medical and Applied Sciences, the Colleges of Nursing, and the construction of the 300-bed Enugu International Hospital, because health is wealth.

“We are now attending to 54 general and cottage hospitals. We are upgrading some of the cottage hospitals to general hospitals,” he stated.

Mbah accepted the award with gratitude, dedicating it to his team, saying, “we are nothing without our team.”

“I want to, on behalf of my team, also assure you that this award will not make us rest on our laurels; it will rather spur us to work harder.”

Also, reacting to some of the major challenges listed by MHWUN Enugu State, Mbah donated an operational bus to the Union.