A Federal Capital Territory High Court has sentenced a prominent Abuja-based clergyman, Bishop Kenneth Duke, to 20 years imprisonment without an option of fine for raping a 12-year-old girl.
The National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) disclosed this in a statement titled ‘An FCT High Court sentenced a 52-year-old bishop to 20 years imprisonment for rape’, issued by its National Press Officer, Vincent Adekoye, on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.
NAPTIP had sued the 52-year-old, who hails from Cross River State, for raping the minor (name withheld).
Adekoye said the victim is the daughter of the bishop’s church member “who was entrusted under the care of his family.
In case no: CR/702/2023 Federal Republic of Nigeria Vs Bishop Kenneth Duke, the Defendant was arraigned before Court 16 on 02/11/2023 on two counts for the offence of rape and intentionally caused emotional and psychological abuse on the victim.
The offence stated that the convict, who lives behind Dantata Construction Company, Dakwa, Abuja, on March 6, 2023, had carnal knowledge of the victim without consent, committing an offence punishable under the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, 2015.
NAPTIP said its investigation revealed that the victim, an indigene of Ondo State, was living in Lagos before she was brought to Abuja to live with her mother.
The report indicated that on March 5, 2023, “her mother took her to the church located at Dantata Zuba Expressway, and after the service, she was taken to the family house of the bishop, who is also the pastor of the church, so that she could stay with them to enable the bishop’s wife to take her to where she would learn a skill which both families had earlier discussed.
“It was gathered that the following day, March 6, 2023, the convict, father of five children, sent his children on an errand, and being alone with the victim at home at about 10:00 a.m., gave her some mathematics work to solve and as she was trying to do it, the bishop pounced on her, covered her mouth and violently r3ped her on a chair despite her crying and pleading,” NAPTIP said.
In the judgment by Justice Adebiyi Osolo, the clergy was found guilty of one count of rape and was sentenced accordingly without an option of a fine.
The development came on the heels of the rescue of nine pregnant girls by NAPTIP operatives at a suspected baby factory located inside one of the sprawling estates in the Ushafa area of Abuja.
The victims were confined to a rented apartment inside the estate by a yet-to-be-identified suspected trafficking agent after recruiting them through an online platform.
NAPTIP’s raid on the facility followed a tip-off by a concerned citizen who noticed the unusual situation and movement around the area.
Madukwe B. Nwabuisi is an accomplished journalist renown for his fearless reporting style and extensive expertise in the field. He is an investigative journalist, who has established himself as a kamikaze reporter.