A High Court sitting in Benin, the capital of Edo State, on Friday, July 11, 2025, remanded a 38-year-old pastor, Simeon Okehielem, in a correctional centre for allegedly raping a married woman, Isoken Aigbedo, in the state.
Pastor Okehielem, known as Ebube Wonder of Ebube Wonders Synagogue Prayers Ministry, also called Healing and Deliverance Mountain, faces a two-count charge of rape and felony intent.
The alleged rape incident led to the birth of a child by the victim.
The police prosecutor, Polycap Odion, told the court that the crime was allegedly committed in Benin in February 2022.
Odion said the pastor gave the woman an unknown substance to swallow and raped her while she was unconscious.
Odion added that the offence contravenes Section 4 and is punishable under Section 5(1) of the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2021.
According to him, it also violates Section 256 of the Criminal Law of Edo, 2022.
The prosecutor, in a motion ex parte, cited the laws and requested that the defendant be remanded for 14 days.
He said the remand was to await legal advice from the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP).
The presiding judge, Justice Anthony Erhabor, ordered the pastor’s remand and adjourned the case to July 25 for hearing.
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