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“My phone was seized, one of my ushers and pastors were arrested, they made statements and were detained for hours”
Senior Pastor and Founder of Victory Revival Fasting & Prayer Ministry with headquarters in Warri, Bishop Elijah Orhonigbe, who was alleged to have drugged and raped a girl, Miracle Omalor, has been discharged and acquitted.
He was discharged and acquitted on November 22, 2022, for want of evidence by Hon. Justice Anthony Akpovi of the Warri High Court 2, in suit No W/ 25SB/2020 between the State and Bishop Orhonigbe.
Recall that Bishop Orhonigbe was arrested in 2020 by operatives of the Delta State Police Command following an accusation of alleged rape by 19-year-old Omalor and was remanded by the order of a Magistrate Court.
Justice Akpovi of the High Court sitting in Warri later granted the cleric bail, ordering the cleric to provide two sureties, who each paid N1m as part of the requirements for his bail.
The police later slammed the bishop with an additional charge of alleged administering of substance, and impersonation.
Hon. Justice Akpovi of the Warri High Court, where the case was tried, however, quashed the case and discharged the bishop for want of proof from the Nigeria Police, Delta State Police Command, who arrested and charged him to court after much media trial.
Speaking on the judgement, one of the counsels to the discharged bishop, Mr Olukoya Ayodele, averred that the whole episode was a set up by enemies of the cleric in connivance with some elements in the Nigeria Police.
“The police in the court said they didn’t have money to carry out a forensic test on the rape victim’s blood and urine to ascertain that she was drugged.
“On alleged impersonation, the police also claimed that they could not raise money to do an investigation in Lagos because they had brought some receipts alleging that the bishop went to Lagos using the name Barrister Elijah Orhonigbe.
“The court after seeing through all the evidence, the judge found that the man of God did not commit any of the three offences. Two of the counts would have sent him to life imprisonment. Administering stupified substance and rape attack life improvement.
“We’ve come to tell the whole world that Bishop Orhonigbe is, indeed, innocent of the allegations.,” Olukoya noted.
Addressing journalists at his church auditorium on Sunday, Bishop Orhonigbe, who thanked God for vindicating him, said he had prepared to go to jail if truly he was found guilty, saying it was a set-up.
He said he was a victim of envy and conspiracy by those who wanted to render desolate his God-given ministry with an allegation that he raped a girl who was openly prayed for in broad daylight in the church auditorium.
Narrating his ordeal, he recounted, “On the 20th of May, 2020 after the church midweek service a member of my church requested to see me and I granted an audience.
“She complained that she had been dreaming about one of her daughters called Miracle Omalor that she (Miracle) died.
“I requested to see her when she was finally brought at about 9:00a.m, I prayed for her in the church auditorium in the presence of three of my church members who took part in the prayer session after which she left for home at about 11:30a.m or thereabout.
“At about 5:00p.m that same day, I was still in the church premises when I saw a large crowd at the church entrance shouting that ‘see the rapist’ at the same time they were banging the church gate.
“Eventually it became a police case. I was detained by the police. At the police station, I was alleged to have drugged the lady before rapping her with blood all over her body.
“My phone was seized, one of my ushers and pastors were arrested, they made statements and were detained for hours.
“On the third day in detention, the police brought another allegation of impersonation.
“My phone that was in police custody was loaded with photoshopped pictures of me dressed in a lawyer’s wig, academic graduation gown receiving the award from Barrack Obama (former USA President), having a handshake with the V.P. Osibanjo and so on.
“The police went to search my office without taking me along and at the end, they came up with arraigned evidence to prove that I was parading myself as a lawyer,” he narrated.
Bishop Orhonigbe, however, said his lawyers would consider his next action whether to sue the police and their accomplices (including a lawyer and his former driver) who had falsely accused him, after the receipt of the court’s certified judgement.
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