In a Lagos State High Court sitting in Ikeja on Wednesday, a medical doctor named Mrs. Sekinat Oredoyin testified about the alleged defilement of a 13-year-old visually impaired girl by a prophet named Olushola Akinsipe. According to Oredoyin, the prophet purportedly sexually assaulted the victim under the guise of performing witchcraft deliverance for her. Oredoyin, who is a public health physician at Yaba Local Council Development Area, was called to testify by the state prosecutor, Mr. Michael Adewoye.
The witness informed the court that the survivor and her father presented themselves for a medical examination on December 12, 2020. During the examination, the survivor disclosed that the defendant, who is the pastor of Power of the Home Deliverance Ministry, forcefully penetrated her on five separate occasions. Oredoyin revealed that the survivor and her father were referred from Owutu Police Station.
According to Oredoyin, the survivor is visually impaired, and her father had taken her to the defendant for deliverance. After consuming an unknown substance given to her by the prophet, the victim claimed she couldn’t recall anything, but later disclosed to her father that the prophet had sexually assaulted her when he discovered a brownish discharge under her pants and questioned her.
The witness also testified that the survivor had hyper-pigmentation around her face and some marks on her waist, which she claimed were injuries sustained during deliverance. The survivor further informed Oredoyin that the prophet had beaten her with banana leaves and scrubbed her back with salt during the deliverance process. The medical examination confirmed that there was forceful penetration of the victim’s vagina.
Oredoyin instructed the survivor to undergo counseling at the Domestic Sexual Violence Agency due to her depressed state of mind. The victim had believed that she was responsible for her mother’s death and that her father was not progressing because of her.
The prophet is facing a three-count charge of defilement, indecent treatment of a child, and trial by ordeal. These offenses allegedly contravene Sections 128(b), 135, and 137 of the Criminal Laws of Lagos State, 2015. Justice Hakeem Oshodi has adjourned the case until April 17 for the continuation of the trial.
