Editorial

Pastor Arrested For Raping His Step-Daughter

Published

9 years ago

January 22, 2016

Lagos- 42yrs old Cleric, Pastor Chidiebere Ikpa, has been arrested for allegedly raping his step daughter, Ngozi (real name withheld), in the Surulere area of Lagos State.
Pastor Ikpa, who denied the allegation, told PUNCH that it was a neighbour, identified only as Richard, that did defile the 14-year-old girl, but he decided not to report the matter to the police because he (Pastor Ikpa) had a forgiving character.
But Ngozi, an SS2 student, who eventually reported the incident to police last Friday, January 15, insisted that she was r*ped by the pastor several times.
The girl added that whenever she told her mother about it, she usually shouted her down, and refused to take any action on the matter.
Pastor Ikpa, who hails from the Bende LGA of Abia State, was arrested by policemen from Isokoko division, while Ngozi was taken for medical examination at the Mirabel Centre, Ikeja.
The test reportedly confirmed that the girl’s private parts had been “tampered with.”
A police source told PUNCH that Ngozi reported that Pastor Ikpa had allegedly been sleeping with her since she was 10 years old and was the one who deflowered her.
She said, “The victim claimed that the suspect deflowered her when she was 10 years. He had allegedly been s*xually molesting the girl since that time.
“The victim’s mother is culpable because she knew about the abuses. The girl said it was when her mother failed to take concrete steps that she came to the police.”
But the pastor said he flogged the girl last Thursday and she disappeared from the house, not knowing she came to the police to lie against him.
He said, “The girl started living with me when she was 12 or thereabout. That was around 2012. It is not true that I r*ped her. I flogged her on Thursday for being rude and she did not return home after school. We did not see her until Friday. She had been with the police.
“The girl has a boyfriend; his name is Richard. He is the manager of a hotel on Rasak Balogun Street. If the medical result shows someone has been sleeping with Ngozi, then it is Richard, not me.
“It is a mystery to me that the girl is claiming that I slept with her. When we caught Richard and confronted him sometime last year, he started begging. The mistake I made was that I did not report to police.
“My wife got furious and said we must report the matter to the police, but the man started begging, sending text messages to me. I forgave him. I am a pastor.
“I was working under a church, but since I moved to this area, I have not pastored any church.”
Again, Ngozi insisted that Pastor Ikpa was lying and he had slept with her on several occasions.
She said, “The first time that he would r*pe me was about five years ago. My mother sent me to give food to him in his own house. I was then staying in my father’s house. That was when he took advantage of me and r*ped me.
“The man he mentioned is not my boyfriend. Richard was the man I reported to when I told my mother about the r*pe and she did not believe me. Richard advised me to leave everything to God.
“Sometimes, when everyone was sleeping, he would come to the room where I was with my other sisters and he would r*pe me. I would be hitting my sisters trying to wake them, but they did not wake at such times.”
Police investigators are trying to find out the truth. Question is, who is lying between Pastor and Ngozi?

Editorial

NGIJ Commences Governance Assessment Tour In Ondo State

Published

5 years ago

December 2, 2019

Sahara Weekly

The Nigerian Guild of Investigative Journalists (NGIJ) will on Monday commence Governance Assessment Tour in Ondo State to assess impact of Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu administration on the people.

A statement issued on Saturday by the Guild Public Relations Officer, Adeyemi Obadimu said NGIJ delegation would arrive Akure, the Ondo State Capital on Monday to commence the Governance Assessment.

Obadimu noted that the Governance Assessment aimed at rooting for the truth, getting firsthand information from different stakeholders and assessing impact of current administration in Ondo State.

”Our members from every part of the country will on Monday converge in Akure, Ondo State Capital for commencement of Governance Assessment Tour to assess Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu administration impact on the people.

”Our crew will engage critical stakeholders including traditional rulers, civil servants, labour unions, pensioners, top government officials, students, market men/women and others in order to get firsthand information about the current administration led by Governor Akeredolu.”

Obadimu disclosed that the guild has carried our similar assessment in Kogi and Bayelsa states, saying ‘this is part of our contributions to deepen Democratic rule in Nigeria’.

Business

Heritage bank partners with Multi choice to flag off BBN third edition

Published

7 years ago

February 5, 2018

Sahara Weekly

Sequel to successful outing of season-2 of the Big Brother Naija (BBNaija) last year, Heritage Bank Plc, has again partnered with MultiChoice Nigeria Limited, owners of the DSTV and GOTV brands to bring the third season of the entertainment to viewers across Africa and beyond.

The Big Brother Naija 2018 was launched on Sunday night with Ebuka Obi-Uchendu as the host with 20 house mates battling for the winning prize of N45 million which include a cash gift of N25 million and SUV Jeep among others. The theme of this year’s edition is “Double Wahala.”

The host said one of the innovations in this season was that viewers could give housemates secret tasks to do and some lucky viewers could win cash prizes of N1 million during the duration of the show.

The house mates will stay at the Big Brother House for the next 85 days to entertain viewers and the show promises to show case a lot of drama, intrigues and romance.

Speaking at the live streaming of the opening session in Lagos at the weekend, Mr. Fela Ibidapo, Group Head, Corporate Communications of Heritage Bank said, “When the last season of the reality show was about to start, some of us did know what we were getting into. We are back here again because last year was successful.’’

He said Heritage Bank believed in creativity and innovation and expressed appreciation to MultiChoice for the opportunity to be part of this edition of the show.

About 20 house mates were invited to the house in the third season of the show which began last Sunday night, with four of them debuting in a reality show for the first time in their lives.

This is an increase over 12 that participated in last year’s edition.

The new comers are Nina Chinoso 21 years- old, Vanessa Williams aka Vandora from Edo State, Teddy A 29 and Kelvin Burle aka K-Brule 23 years-old.

The others are Alexandria (a lady) 22, Adedayo Adewunmi aka Dee-One, a comedian; Princess Onyejekwe 25, Miracle Igbekwe, a pilot and model; Ahneeka 25 years and a TV presenter; Rico Savey,25; Bam Bam,28 years-old freelancer in acting and singing; Bitto Brain 26, Ifu Ennanda, an actress and business broker; Leo 25 years-old corporate hustler with a retail firm; Khloe 24 and a fashion designer; Angela 31 years-old film maker, Anto, Tobi- 23, Cee-C and Omololu Adetokunbo aka Lolu.

In the season two of the show, besides providing financial assistance to the BB Naija contenders, Heritage Bank helped them with business and advisory support services for between six to nine months.

This support helped to chart a veritable course and equip the housemates with the necessary tools to make informed business choices during their individuals’ careers.

In a bid to bring additional value to Nigerian culture, Heritage Bank also ensures that in partnering with the housemates, they take positive steps towards creating, preserving and transferring wealth to Nigerians.

Heritage Bank had also organised an SME enhancement capacity programme for the Ex-Housemates of the BB Naija and other emerging 21st century entrepreneurs at an SME enhancement capacity training programme.

Big Brother Nigeria was designed by its creators to attract controversies and create agenda for social discussions.

Business

How civil defence corps became a millionaire overnight with Skye bank Promo

Published

7 years ago

February 4, 2018

Sahara Weekly

Mrs Eunice Odubor, a 48- year old staff of the Civil Defence Corps, yesterday won the 4th edition of the season 2 reach for the Skye millionaire reward.

Forty other lucky loyal customers across Nigeria also went home with various cash gifts ranging between N20, 000, N50, 000 and N100, 000 respectively.
The cash bonanza and draw which took place at the busy Ekiosa market in Benin City, the Edo State Capital, had in attendance top management staff and Zonal officers of National lottery Commission which witnessed the occasion.
Presenting the cheque to Mrs Isibor, at the resident of the Obazelu of Benin Kingdom, Chief Osaro Idah, the group head Product and Innovation of the bank, Ndubisi Osakwe, said the presentation was a clear demonstration of Skye Bank’s commitment to continue to impact the lives of loyal customers.
He said: “Today Skye Bank has shown its capacity in supporting individuals and retail businesses. We started this journey a couple of months back…now in its 3rd year and this is the fourth in the series.
“We have given given rewards to customers who are loyal to Skye Bank, who have responded to our promo to put N10, 000 for 30 days in savings account and they will qualify to win up to N1m. Mrs Idubor of Foresty branch Benin who has been loyal invested N10, 000 and has won N1m and her account will be credited”
In his remark, Chief Osaro Idah, who presented the cheque to the winner commended the bank for blazing the trail in corporate social responsibility among banks.
Elated Mrs Idubor, who could not hold back tears expressed her gratitude to Skye Bank for the money and promised to tell others to bank with Skye Bank.
She said part of the amount will be invested into the education of her child who had dropped out of the Ambrose Alli University Ekpoma due to paucity of funds.
The Zonal Coordinator, National Lottery Commission, Mrs Kate Okocha, also commended the bank for the transparency and encouraging people to save by opening account.