{"id":69651,"date":"2025-07-04T10:43:32","date_gmt":"2025-07-04T10:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/?p=69651"},"modified":"2025-07-04T10:43:32","modified_gmt":"2025-07-04T10:43:32","slug":"fcta-promises-prosecution-of-cleric-accused-of-raping-14-year-old-girl-in-abuja","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/2025\/07\/04\/fcta-promises-prosecution-of-cleric-accused-of-raping-14-year-old-girl-in-abuja\/","title":{"rendered":"FCTA Promises Prosecution of Cleric Accused of Raping 14-Year-Old Girl in Abuja"},"content":{"rendered":"

Patrick Idowu<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Women Affairs Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), has pledged to seek justice for a 14-year-old girl allegedly raped by a cleric in Gwagwalada.<\/p>\n

The accused, Amos Isah, founder and lead pastor of the Prophetic Victory Voice of Fire Ministry, is currently in police custody.<\/p>\n

Dr. Adebayo Benjamins-Laniyi, Mandate Secretary of the secretariat, emphasized the administration’s determination to see the case through to a conclusive end during a statement made in Abuja on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Reaffirming a zero-tolerance stance on rape in the FCT, Benjamins-Laniyi reiterated the government’s commitment to protecting the rights and dignity of all children in the territory.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis commitment aligns with Section 1 of the Child Rights Act, 2003,\u201d she stated. \u201cThe FCT will not provide a safe haven for any pedophile, regardless of their status. We are committed to ensuring justice whenever the rights of our children are violated.\u201d<\/p>\n

The secretariat is actively coordinating with relevant stakeholders to advocate for the rights of the rape survivor.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am in touch with the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria and the President of the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria, FCT Chapter, regarding this matter.<\/p>\n

“Additionally, I have reached out to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution and Deputy Commissioner of Police Rita Emesim, who oversees gender issues, in pursuit of justice for the victim,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

Benjamins-Laniyi also instructed the Director of the Child Department within the Women\u2019s Affairs Secretariat to visit the victim’s family.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe director has met with the family, offered support, and assured them of the FCTA\u2019s commitment to securing justice for their daughter,\u201d she noted.<\/p>\n

She assured residents that the FCT Administration is handling the case with the utmost seriousness.<\/p>\n

Furthermore, she warned that legal action would be taken against anyone sharing the survivor\u2019s image on social media.<\/p>\n

In particular, she called out social media influencer Isaiah Gbangbala for posting the victim\u2019s picture on Facebook, labeling it as \u201ccyberbullying.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to Benjamins-Laniyi, the girl and her family are experiencing significant trauma, exacerbated by negative social media campaigns. \u201cThe survivor faces not only emotional distress but also serious health issues following the incident. She is experiencing severe pain and bleeding, necessitating her withdrawal from school for medical care.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deputy Commissioner Emesim assured residents that the suspect is expected to be charged in court by Thursday.<\/p>\n

She dismissed rumors suggesting the police were holding the suspect without charges or considering his release, clarifying, \u201cThis is a rape case, a federal offense. We cannot bring a rape case before a Magistrate Court; it must be in a Federal High Court. Our goal is not just to charge but to secure a conviction, which requires thorough due diligence.\u201d<\/p>\n

She emphasized that the case is being handled fairly, reiterating that if convicted, the accused will face the full extent of the law.<\/p>\n

It is worth noting that Prophet Isah was detained by police following a formal complaint from the victim and her parents. They allege that he lured her into his office and raped her on May 26.<\/p>\n

The victim, a Senior Secondary School II student and member of the church’s Media Unit, reported that the assault resulted in physical harm and that the suspect offered her N3,000 while threatening to kill her if she disclosed the incident.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Patrick Idowu The Women Affairs Secretariat of the Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA), has pledged to seek justice for a 14-year-old girl allegedly raped by a cleric in Gwagwalada. The accused, Amos Isah, founder and lead pastor of the Prophetic Victory Voice of Fire Ministry, is currently in police custody. Dr. Adebayo Benjamins-Laniyi, Mandate Secretary […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":69652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[181,172],"tags":[59],"class_list":["post-69651","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","category-news","tag-featured"],"aioseo_notices":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69651","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/32"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=69651"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69651\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":69653,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/69651\/revisions\/69653"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/69652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=69651"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=69651"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abujacityjournal.com\/livenews\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=69651"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}