RismadarVoice Reporters, April 17, 2026
A 63-year-old cleric, Chris Douglas, has been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja for raping a church member’s daughter.
Delivering judgment on Thursday, Justice Rahman Oshodi held that Douglas, the General Overseer of Peculiar Generation Assembly Church, Oshodi, abused his position of spiritual authority and trust to exploit the victim.
The judge described the conduct as a “gross breach of trust,” noting that the convict was regarded as a father figure by the victim and her family.
“The convict occupied a l
position of spiritual authority and was regarded as a father figure by the victim and her family,” Justice Oshodi said. “Instead of protecting that trust, he betrayed it in the most reprehensible manner.”
The court found that the abuse occurred in a hotel on multiple occasions, adding that the victim and her family depended on the cleric for spiritual guidance.
Justice Oshodi further held that the prosecution successfully proved that the victim suffered severe psychological trauma, including depression and recurring suicidal thoughts as a result of the abuse.
During the trial, the prosecution, led by the Director of Public Prosecution, Dr. Babajide Martins, called five witnesses, including the victim, her mother, and a medical doctor. Medical and documentary exhibits were also tendered in evidence.
The victim testified that the cleric initially drugged and raped her in September 2017, stating that she had trusted him as a spiritual father.
“I trusted him like a spiritual father. I never imagined he could do this to me,” she told the court.
Her mother told the court that she confronted the cleric after discovering the incident, adding that he initially denied the allegation but later cried and attributed it to “the work of the devil” before church elders.
The complainant also stated that the matter was reported to a human rights organisation, the police at Makinde Division, and the Mirabel Centre for medical examination.
Douglas denied the allegations, insisting that the relationship was consensual.
But Justice Oshodi rejected the defence, holding that the prosecution proved rape beyond reasonable doubt. The court noted that while some counts were not established, three counts of rape were proven.
The court consequently discharged him on six counts of defilement and sexual assault but convicted him on three counts of rape.
Justice Oshodi sentenced Douglas to life imprisonment on each count, to run concurrently, and ordered that his name be entered into the Lagos State Sexual Offenders Register.
“The law must protect the vulnerable, and this court will not hesitate to punish abuse of trust in the strongest terms,” the judge said.
