A Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja has sentenced a 63-year-old cleric, Chris Douglas, to life imprisonment for raping the daughter of one of his church members.
Douglas, the General Overseer of Peculiar Generation Assembly Church in the Oshodi area of the state, was convicted on Thursday by Justice Rahman Oshodi.
In his judgment, Justice Oshodi held that the convict abused his position of spiritual authority and trust to exploit the victim. The judge noted that the convict was regarded as a father figure by the victim and her family but chose to betray that trust in a “reprehensible manner.”
The court established that the abuse took place in a hotel on several occasions while the victim and her family were looking to the cleric for spiritual guidance.
Justice Oshodi further highlighted the severe psychological impact on the victim, noting that she suffered from depression and recurring suicidal thoughts as a direct consequence of the cleric’s actions.
During the trial, the prosecution team—led by the Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr. Babajide Martins—called five witnesses, including the victim, her mother, and a medical doctor. Various medical and documentary exhibits were also tendered.
The victim had earlier testified that the cleric drugged and raped her for the first time in September 2017. Her mother informed the court that when she confronted Douglas, he wept, blamed the “work of the devil,” and pleaded for forgiveness in the presence of church elders.
Although the convict denied the allegations and claimed the relationship was consensual, the judge dismissed the defense. He ruled that the evidence presented by the prosecution established the case for rape beyond a reasonable doubt.
The court noted that while some incidents allegedly occurring before January 2018 were not sufficiently proven, the prosecution successfully established rape in instances where the victim was 18 years old.
Consequently, the judge discharged Douglas on six counts of defilement and sexual assault but found him guilty on three counts of rape.
Justice Oshodi sentenced the cleric to life imprisonment on each count, with the sentences to run concurrently. The judge also ordered that the convict’s name be entered into the Lagos State Sexual Offenders Register.
