Nigerian pastor sentenced to life imprisonment for raping church member

The leader of a Lagos-based church Feyi Daniels has been sentenced to life imprisonment for raping his church member.

The Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court announced the sentence on Friday, January 26.

According to local media reports, the victim, 23 years is the assistant of Daniels, who is also the founder of “ I Reign Christian Ministry”.

He was also handed three years imprisonment for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old member of the church.

In a statement by Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency (DSVA), the two sentences are to run concurrently, and his name will be registered in the Sexual Offenders Register maintained by the state.

The judge, Rahman Oshodi, described Daniels as a liar who did not have regard for the truth.

The suspect in his defence last year had testified that he believes three out of the four women accusing him of sexually assaulting them conspired to turn against him.

Daniels said that one of those women lied against him because he did not help her sort out some financial issues.

In May 2023, the cleric was remanded in court for allegedly raping a 25-year-old woman at his Lekki residence.

The church member had told the court that the cleric had sex with her during a prayer session while speaking in tongues.

Rape contravenes Section 260 (2) of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.