* Blames the devil
An Enugu-based preacher, Pastor Luke Eze, has been remanded in prison custody for raping two sisters aged 16 and 19, during a purported deliverance session.
The police spokesperson, SP Daniel Ndukwe, confirmed this in a statement on Tuesday.
Ndukwe said the incident occurred on September 7, 2025, at Eze’s church – City of Hope Ministry – popularly known as Ọkụ Night.
According to the police, the pastor, aged 63, lured the younger victim into an empty-mortar-pounding ritual, gave her a stupefying liquid that rendered her unconscious before assaulting her.
When she failed to return home, her 19-year-old sister went in search of her, but was subjected to the same ordeal.
“Both victims regained consciousness the following afternoon to find themselves naked, with bloodstains and other physical evidence of the assault,” Ndukwe said, adding that two bottles of the substance used were recovered for forensic analysis.
He disclosed that the suspect confessed to the crime, blaming it on “the devil.”
Following investigations by the Gender and Anti-Human Trafficking Section of the State CID, he was arraigned and remanded in correctional custody.
Commissioner of Police, CP Mamman Bitrus Giwa, described the act as “abominable and senseless,” while warning the public against falling prey to criminal elements hiding under the guise of spiritual leadership.
In 2024, the pastor of a Pentecostal church in Onpanu, Lagos, Abraham Olaluwoye, was remanded in jail for allegedly raping a 27-year-old lady.
The survivor said the incident happened when she was called by the cleric to come to the church so he could help her get a job.