Enugu pastor rape scandal unfolds as 63-year-old cleric allegedly drugs and rapes two sisters during a fake church ritual. Police promise full justice

Enugu pastor rape scandal has sent shockwaves through the southeast Nigerian community after a 63-year-old pastor was arrested for allegedly drugging and raping two teenage sisters during a staged deliverance ritual.

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Luke Eze, founder of a local church known as City of Hope Ministry, reportedly committed the act on 7 September in the Ezeagu area of Enugu State.

According to police reports, he lured a 16-year-old girl to his church under the pretence of spiritual cleansing.

Enugu State police spokesperson, Daniel Ndukwe, revealed that the girl was made to perform a bizarre ritual involving pounding in an empty mortar.

She was then given a mysterious liquid, after which she lost consciousness. The pastor allegedly took advantage of her vulnerable state and raped her.

Later that same day, her 19-year-old sister, concerned about her sibling’s disappearance, went to the church — only to face the same fate. She too was drugged and assaulted.

Both victims awoke the following afternoon to find themselves naked, physically injured, and traumatised.

During investigation, police recovered two bottles of the unidentified substance used in the incident.

Eze confessed to the crime during questioning, attributing his actions to the influence of “the devil” — a claim authorities have dismissed as a weak excuse.

Following a preliminary investigation by the Gender and Anti-Human Trafficking Unit, the pastor was arraigned and remanded in prison.

The name of the court and the full charges were not disclosed at press time.

The Commissioner of Police in Enugu, Bitrus Giwa, condemned the incident as “unforgivable and despicable,” urging parents to be vigilant and to question spiritual figures who exploit faith to commit atrocities.

The Enugu pastor rape scandal raises further alarm about the abuse of religious authority and the vulnerability of young girls in Nigeria’s faith communities. Authorities have vowed that justice will be served, and that no cover-up will be tolerated.

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Nigeria’s Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act prescribes up to life imprisonment for rape, a sentence that observers believe must be enforced in this case to deter similar crimes.