Crime

Pastor ‘Ebube Wonder’ Remanded Over Alleged Rape, Impregnation of Housewife

A Benin-based pastor, Okehielem Simeon, popularly known as “Ebube Wonder,” has been remanded in a correctional centre over allegations of rape and impregnating a married church member, Mrs. Isoken Vivian Aigbedo. The 38-year-old cleric, who is the General Overseer of Ebube Wonders Synagogue Prayers Ministry—also called “Healing and Deliverance Mountain”—was ordered to be held for an initial 14-day period by Justice A.N. Erhabor of the Benin Criminal Division.

The court directed that Simeon be remanded pending legal advice from the Edo State Ministry of Justice’s Director of Public Prosecution (DPP). He faces a two-count charge: rape and allegedly administering a substance to stupefy the woman in order to commit the offence, which allegedly occurred in February 2022. The charges are brought under the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Law, 2021, and the Criminal Law of Edo State, 2022.

Mrs. Aigbedo, who is married to Mr. Aigbedo Owe, is a member of Simeon’s church located in Uholor community, Upper Ekenwa Road, in Ovia North East Local Government Area. The allegations led to a formal complaint filed with the Edo State Commissioner of Police, prompting an investigation that began in 2024.

According to the woman’s legal representative, Clinton Ogbebor, the accused had evaded arrest until recently, when he was apprehended and a DNA test was conducted on the child allegedly born as a result of the rape. Ogbebor confirmed that the DNA results, revealed earlier this week, showed a 99.9% match with the pastor, identifying him as the biological father.

Following this development, the police rearrested Simeon and arraigned him on July 10, 2025, before the State High Court in Benin City. The judge also ordered that the case file be forwarded to the DPP for further legal action.