The embattled Pastor of the I Reign Christian Ministry, Daniel Oluwafeyiropo, who is charged with rape, concluded his defence on Friday before the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court in Lagos.
Oluwafeyiropo had pleaded not guilty to the charges and has consistently denied the allegations since the commencement of the trial. The case involves the rape of his assistant and another lady, and the trial has been closely watched.
During the trial, the defendant claimed that the alleged survivors had conspired against him, an assertion he repeated during cross-examination by the state counsel, Mr. Babajide Boye, on Friday. He denied offering N100,000 to one of the alleged survivors for medical treatment.
When asked if his position as a pastor and a counsellor made him manipulate people, Oluwafeyiropo responded, “I am not a manipulator. Three ladies turned against me, but one of them later apologized to me. I am not a powerful man but I am a pastor, and I do not use power to counsel people. You get trained to counsel and you use wisdom and the leading of the spirit.”
Furthermore, the defendant refuted any allegations of tampering with WhatsApp messages between him and one of the alleged survivors.
Defence counsel, Mr. Olukunle Oyewole, then informed the court that the defendant had concluded his case.
In response, Justice Rahman Oshodi admitted some extrajudicial statements from the defence counsel as evidence and marked them as Exhibits E1 to E7.
The case is now adjourned until December 20 for the adoption of final written addresses by the defence and prosecution counsel.
The defendant is facing a two-count charge related to the alleged rape of two ladies, with the charges specifying that the sexual intercourse occurred against the wishes of the survivors at his residence in Lekki, Lagos State.
