There’s the story of a Bishop Daniels, founder of a certain church in Lagos, accused of not sparing the rod to spoil his erring female congregation!
He is said to be a man whos member is often used to hold female members who stray from the flock back into the fold.
How does he do this?
He grooms them, then rapes them.
He summons them to his palatial home in Lekki; puts the fear of God in them, accusing them of imaginable and unimaginable offences, asks them to strip naked, sometimes forces them to get drunk and when they are drunk and malleable, rapes them until they bleed!
He likes blood, this Bishop Daniels
According to one of his victims, a 22 year old, told Punch that she was singled out for punishment when she chose to attend her brother’s funeral versus a church meeting called by the Bishop on the same day.
She went for her brother’s funeral, of course, and got summoned by the almighty Bishop Daniels to his Lekki home for “punishment.”
“So, I went to his house in Lekki for the punishment and when I got there, he said I should strip naked because he wanted to beat me. He was alone at home. He saw that I was shocked at his statement and started making me feel guilty.”
Bishop Daniels, according to the victim, did not rape her that day; he was assessing his victim, I suppose. She said, “The following day, we were in the sitting room listening to a pastor’s message when he said I should go naked again. I did, and surprisingly, he also went naked and raped me for about 30 minutes till I started bleeding because of the tears I sustained despite not being a virgin.” The following day, the victim said Bishop Daniels began to act like the injured party, making her feel guilty for raping her.
She said, “I greeted him, but he didn’t answer. Later, he started saying I should be privileged that he had that kind of thing with me. All of a sudden, he took off my clothes and raped me again and I still bled the second time. It was traumatic for me.”
The young lady then reported the matter to the Force Criminal Investigation Department, Alagbon in 2020 but the investigating officer demanded N70,000 from her before he could go arrest Bishop Daniels!
Bishop roamed free with his rod, punishing more young women who were too scared to report him. But following after the report by the first victim, two more victims have summoned courage to tell their own stories as well.
The two victims said he used similar tricks of getting them to his house; an accusation of wrong doing. He would then claim to punish them by asking them to strip naked, force alcohol on them and rape them.
Punch reported that “… one of the ex-worshippers said Daniels also raped her twice, adding that in one instance, the pastor made her lose consciousness.” She reported that, “I found myself naked… and felt his semen around my private parts…”
The third victim said, “I didn’t do anything wrong in church, but I was suddenly told that I had been suspended and should report to Lagos…I had not even dropped my bag or rested from the long journey when he said I should go naked. I said, ‘Go naked like how?’ and he slapped me. I was alone with him and afraid.”
He subsequently raped her. She said further, “I was scared; everyone is scared of him. I was 18-year-old and he manipulated me in many ways. Sometimes, he lured me to take alcohol or pills and had sex with me when I became unconscious.”
This has been Bishop Daniels’ modus operandi; he is still walking free as we speak!
He is still carrying the bible and claiming to hear from a god his congregation do not know.
He is still preaching like a man who knows the worth of his calling
He is arresting attention as a man blessed but with a curse on his head.
When will the police arrest this man who they said they arrested but let go on bail after five days?
When will the rest of those who have still remained silent, for fear of being stigmatised or accused of being “responsible” for their rape, get justice?
When enablers stop to think and do the right thing.
People who enable men like Bishop Daniels are plenty in our churches today; like the so called church elders who know their Bishop’s randy rod should be curbed but wouldn’t dare speak out; the people close to him who choose to look the other way while he continues to flog his young female members with his rod.
The police too are complicit; they arrested him and let him off on bail. He should have been arrested and charged to court long before now, especially after he was reported by the first victim who was asked to bring N70,000 before the Bishop could be arrested.
Well, let’s hope now that he has been exposed, the police will hound him out and help the victims get justice!