By Christian George
The senior pastor and general overseer of Victory Revival Fasting and Prayer Ministry, Warri, Delta State, Bishop Elijah Orhonigbe, has cleared the air on his victory over rape allegation.
Bishop Orhonigbe, in an interview with Tribune thanked God who has seen him through the legal hurdle and he returned victorious.
He said photoshopped photographs to aid his allegation were found inside the car which only him and the driver had access to.
Then did he reasoned that his driver had conspired to drag him into a matter he knew nothing of, hence he was compelled to sack him.
The bishop, after he was set free discovered those pictures in the car when he took it to car wash.
On how it all started, he said “on May 2020, after the church midweek service, a member of my church requested to see me and I granted her audience. Her complaint was that she had been dreaming about one of her daughters called Miracle Omalor, who had died.
“I requested to see her, when she was finally brought at about 9:00 a.m, I prayed for her in the church auditorium in the presence of three of my church members who took part in the prayer session after which she left for home at about 11:30 a.m or thereabout.
“At about 5:00 p.m that same day, I was still in the church premises when I saw a large crowd at the church entrance shouting, “see the rapist” at the same time they were banging the church gate.”
He said that it turned out to have involved police as he was charged with an allegation of drugging the lady before rapping her with blood stains all over her body.
The bishop added that some of his church officers were arrested and detained for hours after recording their statements.
“I was arrested and taken to the police station on the allegation of being a rapist on May 20, 2020. I was taken to prison, denied bail at the Magistrate Court, the matter was then taken to the High Court where I was granted bail. The news went viral, but today, I’m happy that I have been discharged and acquitted in the three-count charge of rape, drug prescription and impersonation.
“I want to thank my members who stood by me and believed that I cannot be involved in such act. I want to also thank my lawyer, Chief E. L.Umuze, Barrister Olukoya Ayodele and others who stood by me during those trying times.
The bishop continue, “on the third day in detention, the police brought another allegation of impersonation. My phone that was in police custody was loaded with photoshopped pictures of me dressed in lawyer’s wig, academic graduation gown receiving and having a handshake with the vice president Yemi Osinbajo and so on. The police also went ahead to ransack my office without taking me along and in the end, they came up with arranged evidence to prove that I was parading myself as a lawyer. Eventually I was charged to court. But before I was charged to court, a lawyer was recommended to my members as the only one who could talk to the police. I paid him some money,” Bishop Orhonigbe recounted.
He continued, “at the Magistrate Court, I was remanded. The lawyer that was recommended to me did all he could to ensure that I settled the case out of court by paying off the alleged victim, but I refused, until information came to me through the lawyers. I personally briefed that the lawyer recommended to me was the lawyer who started the case for the alleged victim. At that point, I told him I did not want to see him again. I was eventually granted bail. While on bail, I took my car to a carwash, and I was surprised to see printed copies of those pictures police planted in my phone inside the car; they were packed inside a brown envelope and kept under the back foot carpet. I was compelled to sack my driver as we were just two who had access to the car. That was when I realised that he was part of the conspiracy.
On how he regained his freedom, he said “the matter went to the High Court in suit No. W/28c/2020 for trial. The police, standing in for the state, told the court that they did not have money to carry out tests to show if drug was in the victim’s blood or urine and to investigate the case of impersonation. It was clear that the victim, who initially claimed not to have known any man, had her first child at the age of 17 and was also pregnant for another man when the case was on. Her mother also admitted in court to have given birth to three daughters for three different men. So, after several months of trial, the court gave judgement and set me free, to the glory of God!”
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