‘My Wife Starves me of Sex,’ Says Pastor Accused of Raping 7-year-old House Help

A 65-year-old pastor, Francis Ogwu, has been arrested for allegedly raping his seven-year-old house help in Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria.

The suspect, who serves as the general overseer of Jesus House of Joy Church, was detained following reports from concerned neighbors, according to Chidinma Ikeanyionwu, media aide to the Anambra State Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo.

Arrest

Ms. Ikeanyionwu said Mr. Ogwu was arrested in response to an alarm raised by some residents in the neighborhood who reported the alleged abuse of the girl.

‘My wife starves me of sex’

A video clip uploaded on Facebook on Thursday showed the suspect and the survivor being interrogated. In the clip, Mr. Ogwu denied raping the survivor, stating, “I only fingered her once.” When asked why he did not go to his wife instead, he replied, “The problem with my wife is that each time I wanted her, she would tell me that she was fasting or doing night vigil.”

Mr. Ogwu also claimed that the devil must have pushed him into the act, given that the survivor had yet to develop breasts that could possibly attract him to her. “Since 1991 till now, I have been preaching the gospel,” he claimed and pleaded for forgiveness.

The suspect’s wife was asked to respond to her husband’s claim that she frequently denied him sex, but she said she would not be able to answer the question. She also mentioned she was not aware that her husband was raping the survivor.

How he raped me – Survivor

Ms. Ikeanyionwu said the survivor narrated to the commissioner how the suspect allegedly raped her. The survivor, according to the statement, said the suspect had raped her three times, after which he gifted her between N500 and N1000. She added that the suspect’s wife later accused her of attempting to snatch her husband from her and that she was forced to leave the house following frequent beatings by one of the suspect’s daughters.

The survivor’s mother speaks

Destiny Nwabueze, the mother of the survivor, said she allowed her daughter to live with Mr. Ogwu’s family due to the friendship existing between the two families. Mrs. Nwabueze said she was shocked when she learned from her daughter that the suspect had been raping her. She confronted Mr. Ogwu, who denied the allegations, prompting her to involve the neighborhood in raising the alarm.

Despite pleas from the suspect’s family for forgiveness, the commissioner stated that the matter had been handed over to the police. “The case will be charged to court,” she said.

‘Don’t starve your husbands of sex’

Reacting to the incident, the State Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Mrs. Obinabo, vowed to ensure the survivor gets justice. She advised married women to avoid starving their husbands of sex, stressing that such could “push the husband to misbehave.” She also urged women to protect their girl child at all costs, noting that rape is no longer excusable in Anambra State.

Prohibited in Nigeria

Nigeria, in 2015, enacted the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act, which outlawed all forms of violence against women and girls, including rape, female circumcision, and forceful ejection. Offenders, on conviction, face life imprisonment or a maximum of 14 years in jail, depending on the age of the offender and the type of violence committed.

Various courts have convicted several persons of rape. An Ado-Ekiti High Court, in July 2022, sentenced a 49-year-old man, Dele Adeyanju, to four years imprisonment for raping an 11-year-old girl. A Bauchi High Court, in 2017, sentenced two middle-aged men to life in prison for raping a 40-year-old woman and plucking her eyes.