Cleric Defiled Me In Church Office, Student Tells Court

A student (name withheld) has told a Lagos State High Court in Ikeja how a pastor, Elijah Emenandy, allegedly introduced pornography, masturbation and anal sex to him in his church office.

 He told the court that the incident happened when he was 19 years old and the defendant was his pastor.

The witness made the allegations while testifying in the ongoing trial of Emenandy over a three-count charge of sexual assault by penetration and sexual assault before Justice Oyindamola Ogala

The prosecution stated that the offences are contrary to Section 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.

The defendant, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

While being led in evidence by Lagos State counsel, Olu Azeez, the victim alleged that the harassment started in December 2020, when the defendant told his mother that he had a vision about the witness, where he would die in February 2021, that she should bring him for prayers.

Narrating how he went to see the pastor, the alleged survivor claimed, “My mum and I then went to see him in his church during an evening programme. Afterwards, when he wanted to see me, he asked if my mum should come along but I said I could handle it.

“He said he would pray for me and I should come for counselling every Tuesday, he told me other things and that he would be giving me spiritual assignments.

“He asked me questions like if I had ever had sex before or masturbated and if I watched pornography, also asked if I had wet dreams or if I was into fraud, I said I had not done those things but I was about getting into fraud.

“He advised me not to get into fraud and I should change my lifestyle and I did, I stopped wearing earrings, my dress code and how I speak,” the witness said.

The student testified that one of the days thereafter, he called him to his office and asked him to take off his trousers and that he should touch his manhood until he became hard, but he said he could not because he had never done that before.

Justice Ogala adjourned the case to December 11 for the continuation of the trial.