“Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of My pasture!” declares the LORD… You have scattered My flock and driven them away, and have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for the evil of your deeds, declares the LORD.…” Jeremiah 23:1 (Holy Bible)
For murdering his choir mistress, Orlunma Nwagba whom he allegedly impregnated, her friend, Chigozie Ezenwa, and Chigozie’s 11-month-old baby, Cresabel a High Court of Justice in Port Harcourt has sentenced one Pastor Chidiebere Okoroafor, to death by hanging
The self-acclaimed pastor who is the General Overseer of the Altar of Solution and Healing Assembly, Oyigbo, Rivers State was said to have committed the offence on December 11, 2017, in the Oyigbo Local Government Area of the state.
Delivering his judgment, His Lordship, the Honourable Justice S.O. Benson, said the evidence and confessional statements from the pastor showed that he committed the crimes.
Justice Benson said the prosecution proved the case of murder against the cleric and ordered that he should be hung by the neck until he dies or given a lethal injection which also kills faster.
The two women reportedly visited the pastor’s house in Oyigbo for a conversation about the said pregnancy but he tricked them to a bush and committed the act in two different locations. Chigozie Ezenwa, Orlunma’s friend was with her 11-month-old baby, Cresabel.
On 17 December 2017, officers of the Rivers State Police Command arrested Okoroafor following an alarm raised by Ezenwa’s husband over the disappearance of his wife and baby.
Condemning the now common trend of religious leaders taking advantage of their members, Toyin Falola in her article Religious Mumu published by Nigerian Tribune on March 24, 2023, wrote: “It is common knowledge that the major reason why people attend church and Jumat services religiously is that they seek solutions to their problems. As much bad governance is enough to seek God’s intervention for various human issues ranging from terminal illnesses, protection, promotion, unhappiness, barrenness, unemployment, and marital problems, to poverty, which is an average African’s motivation to seek God’s face, also cause people to become staunch believers. To get swift, miraculous answers to these problems, many people fall prey to the traps of “men of God”, who only look to fill their pockets and bellies…
“Pastors and Muslim clerics are considered mini gods who can do no wrong. The Bible verse, “Touch not my anointed and do my prophet no harm,” is an ever-ready response by Christians in defense of their highly revered pastors who would not think twice before taking advantage of their desperation to get their problems solved. They forget that a “man of God” is first a man. Religion has rendered humans gullible to the extent that they excuse things their religious leaders do that are not even in tune with what is written in the Holy books. How do you explain a pastor who sleeps with a woman looking for the fruit of the womb and says his sperm is the anointing that will cause her to have her child?”
Addressing journalists outside the courtroom, the prosecuting counsel from the state Ministry of Justice, Precious Ordu, expressed satisfaction over the judgment, adding that the prosecution received several threats in the course of the trial.
“Justice has been served to the state, the complainant, and the convict. This will serve as a deterrent to all those who intend to commit the same offence because it is justice for all,” he said.
However, counsel to the defendant, Innocent Ekwu, said he and his team would appeal the judgment.
“We, as counsel for the defendant, have decided to appeal the case. We are going to file our notice of appeal as quickly as possible because we have grounds on which we believe that the defendant did not commit the offence,” he said.
