Church member: He specialises in giving ladies
spiritual bath
Residents of Odode Idanre, Idanre Local Government
area of Ondo State, were recently stunned speechless when they heard that a man,
identified as Pastor Taiwo Olubayode, married to three wives and blessed with 13
children, got one of his teenage daughters pregnant.
Olubayode, who was sentenced to nine years
imprisonment with hard labour by a family court in Oke-Eda Akure, for
impregnating his 16-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Bosede is now a guest at Olokuta
prison. He is the father and grandfather of baby Michael.
Olubayode is a prophet with one of the white garment
churches in Odode-Idanre in Idanre Local Government Area.
Olubayode, who has three wives and 13 children, for
reasons people couldn’t fathom, preferred to have sex with his daughter Bosede
than with his wives.
A police source said: “It was discovered during
investigation that the victim, after she found out she was pregnant, alerted
the suspect. He gave her some concoctions to drink; he wanted to abort the
pregnancy. But the concoctions failed. After repeated attempts and with the
pregnancy advancing, he left it. The suspect tried to smuggle the victim out of
the house to a private clinic for an abortion. The girl refused and threatened
to raise the alarm
“The suspect, in anger instructed the victim to stay
indoors to avoid suspicion from church members and neighbours. Whenever neighbours
asked after Bosede, Olubayode would tell them she traveled to visit her
mother. It was later they discovered that he got his daughter pregnant and kept
her locked up.”
The sexual relationship between father and daughter,
which has been going on for years, became public knowledge after Bosede got
pregnant.
Bosede stopped going to school when the pregnancy
started showing. Her school mates, who came to the house to ask after her, were
informed by Olubayode that she traveled to Lagos to continue her studies.
The residents were said to have been shocked when
they discovered that the cleric had been sexually violating his daughter.
According to Olubayode, he was tempted by the devil
to have sex with his daughter. Although, some residents alleged that the cleric
did it for occult purpose.
Investigations showed that the cleric, whose church
is located at Okedo Street, Odode, Idanre, is quite popular. A good number of
people, from far and near, used to troop to the church seeking miracles.
One of the church members said: “The prophet is a
specialist in giving ladies spiritual bath. He takes them to the stream to wade
off evil spirits. These spirits are believed to have deprived the ladies of
husbands. Some of these ladies are tormented by spiritual husbands. The spirits
also prevented some of these women from having babies. The spiritual baths are
supposed to free the women and make them have good husbands.”
Olubayode lives alone with Bosede after his three
wives left him for reasons yet unknown.
When Bosede’s mother wanted to walk out of the
marriage, she tried to take Bosede, but Olubayode refused. He insisted that he
needed Bosede to run errands.
One of his family members said: “Olubayode refused
to remarry after his wives left. It’s now clear that he preferred to have sex
with his daughter, rather than to get a new wife.”
According to neighbours, Bosede bottled up
everything because her father warned her not to disclose the illicit affairs to
anybody.
Officials of the Ministry of Women Affairs and
Social Welfare said that Bosede’s mother, Funmilayo was aware of the incestuous
relationship, but was afraid of the consequences of exposing it.
When the pregnancy advanced to four months, the cleric
took to doing domestic chores, including going to the market and cooking.
The affair was blow open after Olubayode, one
fateful day, took a worshipper to the stream for a spiritual bath.
A neighbour noticed movement inside the house and
went to investigate. The neighbour saw Bosede lying on the bed with a heavy
pregnancy and raised the alarm. The neighbours rallied and reported the matter
to the police, stressing that the cleric had been sexually abusing his
daughter.
The suspect was ambushed by policemen when he
returned home and whisked to the police station for questioning.
During interrogation, Olubayode told the police he
fell for temptation. He also blamed the devil. He was detained at the Ala
Police Station. The church is presently under lock, while other leaders and
members of the church have gone underground for fear of being arrested.
Mr, Oluwaniyi Ogunleye, a director in the Ministry
of Women Affairs, said: “The girl, after putting to bed, has been sent back to
school so that she could continue with her studies. The government will take
care of her and her education. The baby, Michael, died as a result of the
strike action embarked upon by the health workers over unpaid salaries.”
The offence, according to police prosecutor, Mr.
Ebriku David was contrary to and punishable under sections 31(1) and 31(2) of
the Ondo State Child’s Right law of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps
2007.
Olubayode pleaded not guilty to the charge on his
first arraignment, but later found guilty. The magistrate, Mrs Olufunmi Edwin,
sentenced Olubayode to nine years imprisonment with hard labour without option
of fine.
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