23rd April, 2023
By Jennifer Eluemelem
Members of the IReign Christian Ministry, founded by Bishop Feyi Daniel, worshipped together in joy today despite the ongoing rape case involving “their prophet.”
Our correspondent who visited the church at Opebi, Ikeja, Lagos confirmed that Bishop Feyi did not attend today’s service but his absence did not alter the mood of the service.
The embattled cleric was represented by one of the ministers of the church, Pastor Foluke, who preached the sermon titled “Honour”
The preacher laid emphasis on the need to give honor to “Men called by God” and to refrain from passing on judgment as that is God’s due and not man’s.
Speaking on the absence of the Bishop, Pastor Foluke said:
“I want to bring to your remembrance some of the words of our father before this event played out. He said and I quote “In believing and following a prophetic oath, you must guard your heart and mind against social media publications and sponsored posts. Discerning accurately and standing for what is right and not what is trending.”
She goes further to say, “Remember that our father Bishop Feyi is a covenanted man who foresaw all of the attacks’.
Talking to the congregation on their role while going through this trial, she says that it is simple and their role is to guard their heart and stand in honor.
Speaking further she said that definitely the church members will hear all sorts of news but they should remember that the goal of every negative information is to disconnect them from all that God has prepared for them through the man of God.
She admonished them not to allow such, saying, like our father would say “It is a storm and it shall come to pass”.
She encouraged the followers of Bishop Feyi to be strong and ignore what people are saying and only stand for what they believe in, asking them to take a bold stand and show people who they are standing with.
Asking them to note that in the course of standing for Bishop Feyi, they are not to engage in any arguments or banters both on and off all social media platforms but instead they should stand in honor, guard their hearts and just make their stance known privately and publicly without entangling themselves in any form of argument.
Bishop Feyi
He became popular for his controversial prediction about the result of the 2023 elections.
The cleric predicted the arrest of President-elect Bola Tinubu on the day of his inauguration. He added that Peter Obi will eventually become President.
On Monday the 17th of April, he appeared at the Lagos Special Offences Court in Ikeja on a two-count charge of rape.
Bishop Daniels pleaded not guilty and was granted bail on conditions including an N20 million bond and two sureties with property in the state.
Justice Ramon A. Oshodi ordered an accelerated hearing and remanded him at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre until he fulfils bail conditions.
The judge also directed that the church leader should submit his international passport to the court and adjourned to the 9th of May, 2023 for trial.
In March, the Lagos Directorate of Public Prosecution, DPP, ordered Daniels’ arraignment over the alleged rape of an assistant pastor and another lady.
The case was investigated at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, FCID, in Ikoyi, where the two victims gave their statements.
The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Team had also been involved in the matter.
The case file was forwarded to the DPP last year when an investigation was said to have been concluded.
The report from the DPP which was signed by its Director, Dr. Babajide Martins, dated December 16, 2022, reads;
“After careful consideration of the facts available in the duplicate case file, this office is of the view that there exists prima facie offence of rape under Section 260 of the Criminal Law, Ch C17, Vol.3, Laws of Lagos State, 2015 against the suspect, Oluwafeyiropo Daniel.
“Facts from the duplicate case file reveal that the suspect, Oluwafeyiropo Daniel, is a pastor and the founder of I Reign Christian Ministry; that he had a church branch in Akungba Akoko (Ondo) where he had young people as pastors and assistant pastors. It is also revealed that Oluwafeyiropo Daniel invites the branch pastors and assistants to his house from time for one reason or the other.”
The report said Daniel took advantage of one of the assistant pastors whenever she visited his residence in the Ikota area of Lagos.
“It is revealed that Oluwafeyiropo Daniel having presented himself as his victims’ spiritual father whom they must be loyal to and must never hide anything from, including their bodies, lures the complainant and his other victim into having sexual intercourse with him,” the advice added.
On the rationale for prosecuting Daniel, the state government said for the prosecution to successfully prove the offense of rape, it must be established that the accused had sexual intercourse with the complainants.
The justice ministry added that it must also be evident that the act was not consensual.
It stated that there must be proof that there was penetration and that the suspect acted recklessly by not caring whether the complainants consented or not.
The advice noted that though Daniel denied sexually assaulting the assistant pastor or any of his other victims, the evidence of the “victims in the duplicate case file were cogent, direct and unequivocal and are sufficient evidence against Daniel.”
“In the light of the foregoing, this office shall prosecute Pages 81- (Oluwafeyiropo Daniel) for the offence of rape under Sections 260 of the Criminal Law, Ch C17, Vol.3, Laws of Lagos State, 2015,
“Your duplicate case file is hereby retained to enable this office to prosecute the suspect (Oluwafeyiropo Daniel) at the High Court. You shall be notified as soon as the information is filed.
“Extra copies of this legal advice and forms for information on legal representation for the suspect are attached for service on the suspect in line with the provision of Section 74 (5) and (6) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Law of Lagos State 2011,” the advice added.
Section 260 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State under which the suspect is to be tried, prescribes a punishment of life imprisonment for rape upon conviction.
The section reads, “Any man who has unlawful sexual intercourse with a woman or girl, without her consent, is guilty of the offense of rape and liable to imprisonment for life.”
While speaking to The PUNCH in June 2022, the first accuser who was an assistant pastor said she was summoned to the church headquarters in Lagos as punishment for an undisclosed offense.
She said, “So, I went to his house in Lekki for the punishment and when I got there, he said I should strip naked because he wanted to beat me. He was alone at home. He saw that I was shocked at his statement and started making me feel guilty.
“He said his spiritual father tested him in many areas and after hours of contemplating, he became angry that I disobeyed him. So, I went into the guest room, took off my clothes and closed my eyes as I came out to meet him. He told me not to close my eyes, and ordered me to kneel as he sat on a chair.
“He saw my nakedness and said he wanted to test my loyalty and was not having sex with me. He told me to put my clothes back and after wearing them, he told me to take them off again and I did. He later told me to go and not tell anyone, but after leaving his place, I told some of our senior church members.”
The victim said she returned home and after some time, Daniel called her to report at his residence over another incident.
She said, “So, while at his house, he told me he would punish me for an offense and said I should transcribe the messages in one of his teachings. The next day, the pastor of the branch in Ibadan and his wife, whom I met at his residence the previous day left, so I was alone in the house with Bishop Daniel.
“So, while in the sitting room with him, he attempted to kiss me and I stopped him; then he slapped me. He was angry and said the last time he told me to go naked, he didn’t do anything with me. So, he left and I went into the room to sleep.
“The following day, we were in the sitting room listening to a pastor’s message when he said I should go naked again. I did, and surprisingly, he also went naked and raped me for about 30 minutes till I started bleeding because of the tears I sustained despite not being a virgin.
“The incident happened around 10 pm; I was dumbfounded. He told me to go inside the room to clean up myself and before I returned, he had cleaned up the blood on the floor. He told me not to tell anyone, but I told a pastor in my church.”
The victim said Daniels did not allow her to leave his house, adding that when he attempted to rape her the following night, she pleaded with him that she was tired.
The 22-year-old said, “In the morning, I greeted him, but he didn’t answer. Later, he started saying I should be privileged that he had that kind of thing with me. All of a sudden, he took off my clothes and raped me again and I still bled the second time. It was traumatic for me.
“He told me to go to the bathroom to wash and he cleaned the blood before I came out. I picked up my phone, and informed the pastor of my branch and another church member of our branch, who decided to come to the pastor’s house.
“Bishop Daniels started begging me and said he never knew what came over him. When the church member came, I wanted to follow her out to tell her the story, but he prevented me from leaving the house. I later left his house but while thinking about the incident, I felt suicidal.
“I stopped going to the church and my branch has been closed down. I reported the incident at the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon, in 2020. But the investigating police officer, one Inspector Samuel, told me to bring N70,000 if I wanted him arrested.
“I did not have that money and had to stop going to the station. Bishop Daniels started sending people to beg me, but I just moved on.”
Two other victims also alleged that the suspect used a similar trick of summoning them from their branches to his house in Lekki, Lagos State, claiming that they committed offenses for which they would be punished before sleeping with them.