By Samuel Itsede
Justice Hussein Baba-Yusuf of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting at Maitama, Abuja, yesterday sentenced a pastor and founder of Mountain Movers Ministry International, Nyanya, Abuja, Pastor Basil Princewill, to seven years in prison for raping a 14-year-old girl.
The clergyman was dragged before the court in June, 2012 by the police on a four-count charge bordering on rape, impersonation and attempt to cause abortion and abetting miscarriage.
He was alleged to have forcefully had sexual intercourse with a 14-year-old girl, Favour Iwoha, between July 27 and December 31, 2011 at Mountain Movers Ministry International and his house at Nyanya, Abuja, without her consent and impregnated her.
He was alleged to have subsequently given her drugs with a view to aborting the pregnancy.
Princewill was further alleged by the prosecution to have, on or about January, 2012 attempted to cause miscarriage on the minor when he gave her drugs to take and abort the pregnancy, which resulted to her bleeding.
The offence, according to prosecution, is contrary to Sections 282, 179, 95 and 85 of Penal Code.
In the course of the trial, the prosecution called four witnesses to prove its case against the clergyman. It closed its case on December 9, 2016.
The defendant closed his case on May 24, 2017 having testified for himself without calling anyone.
Delivering judgment in the case yesterday, Justice Baba-Yusuf lamented that the defendant was a man of God who the society looked up to as next to God.
He held that it is regrettable that a person who called himself a man of God was involved in such shameful, disgraceful and satanic act,
According to him, in arriving at his decision, he considered the fate of a young girl and the society, adding that the court had a duty to deter others with such evil mind from perpetrating such acts.
“It is even worrisome when the person involved is a man of God who we should look up to as next to God. Those who serve in the Lord’s vineyard are expected to be an example to the society.
“We have a duty to send a signal that this attitude should not be tolerated. It is regrettable that the person who called himself a man of God will be involved in such shameful disgraceful and satanic act,” he said.
The judge stated that by the convict’s conduct, he deserved to be kept away from the public, declaring that, “he would face the prison walls like a monastery so that when he comes out, he would have been born again.”
He said that the testimony of the first, second and third prosecution witnesses corroborated. The PW1 was the mother of the victim, PW2 the victim herself, while PW3 was the doctor of the hospital where the victim was taken to.
According to Justice Baba-Yusuf, “I believe the evidence of the PW2 (victim ) to be true and the PW1 (her mother) told the story in the same way the victim told the court too.
“The evidence of the accused was inconsistent and confusing also and the direct evidence given by the victim to her mother narrated the ordeal the victim went through in the hands of the accused,” he held.
Baba -Yusuf held that out of the four-count charge preferred against Princewill by the prosecution, the defendant is convicted on count one, which is rape and count three which is abetment to cause abortion.
He held that though the convict denied not raping the victim, his (Princewill’s) evidence contradicted itself and therefore convicted on the allegation of rape.
The judge also convicted him on the third count of abetment to cause abortion.
He was, however, discharged for the offence of impersonation and attempt to cause miscarriage, which the judge said the prosecution did not prove their ingredients.
In view of the fact, the convict was a first offender “the accused person is sentenced to seven years for the offence of rape and five years for the offence of abetment which will run concurrently.”
Earlier in his allocutus, the defence counsel, Kekere Akpe, pleaded with the court to temper justice with mercy, saying that the convict was a first-time offender as well as a family man.
On his part, the prosecution counsel, Simon Lough, urged the court to accordingly sentence the convict to serve as a deterrent for others.
