The pastor

Pastor  Sunday Egbo Madu- abuchi. Do you know him? The 30-year-old man is the Founder and General Overseer of Christ Mercy Ministry, Ajuonu, Obukpa, Nsukka Local Government Area of Enugu State. His Igbo surname, Maduabuchi, translates as “man is not God.” But to many of his church members, especially women with infertility challenges, he comes across as something of a god. But he recently proved to be a god with feet of clay when he escaped with his victim’s pants and brassieres after having forceful carnal knowledge of one of his female church members called Blessing Ukweze Ifebuche.

It turned out that the girl’s mother had inadvertently played into his hand, by ignoring the timeless warning of Evangelist Temilolu Okeowo, Founder and President of Girls Club of Nigeria. “It is unhealthy for a girl/ lady to go on an exclusive prayer retreat with any man of God! I’d repeat: Don’t follow your ‘father- in-the-Lord’ to an exclusive prayer retreat specially organised for you alone!” she wrote, sometime ago. “It could be a bait to lodge you in the same hotel room with him and have carnal knowledge of you! Countless women and girls have fallen into this evil trap by satanic men and till today they can’t confide in the people closest to them, least of all, the world, because most people won’t believe them! Worse still, a lot of them (pastors) can’t get the pigs off their heads yet they’ve moved on to laying almost half the women in their church! Please…please… please…don’t be too close to any man-of-God in this wise! No one can be trusted!”

Lies and deceits of a ‘man-of-God’

No one can tell if Blessing’s mother read those words or not but what followed should serve as a stern warning to all mothers on the need to watch the relationship between them or between their daughters and so-called men of God. Before he had his way with the 18-year-old teenager, Pastor Sunday, as Maduabuchi is popularly known among his church members and followers, had succeeded in convincing Blessing’s mother to send her over for a special deliverance crusade taking place, he claimed, in the church. But later development moved the venue to his house located at Ajuana Obukpa, Nsukka Local Government, Enugu State. Her daughter was to come, he told the woman, with the photograph of her younger brother who is said to be sick with some unnamed mysterious ailment.

Date was November 9, 2019. And, time? He lied to the unsuspecting girl’s mother that it would start by 6pm and that it was to be held for her and other members of the church who needed ‘deliverance’ on some areas of their lives, but in reality, it started at about 11pm with some struggles and dragging, not with the supposedly demonic forces turning into hell his members’ destinies, but with the innocent girl who was sent to his ‘slaughter house’ by an equally naïve mother. But by the time the ‘deliverance session’ was over, it had attracted a charge of rape, attempted ritual murder and a few of other scary stories inside the evil deed.

And, now with detectives from the Anti-Trafficking Gender Unit of State Criminal Investigation Department, Enugu State Police Command wading fully into the matter after prompt arrest of the alleged culprit pastor, power appears to have changed hands. Now, the hunter has become the hunted. And, if you listened carefully, you could hear some jubilation among the host of angels of darkness for seizing the initiative this time around, upsetting some balances and causing some spiritual havoc among the company of men before the likes of Pastor Maduabu- chi could do so among the company of demons.

How Pastor Maduachi raped his female church member

Parading Maduabuchi alongside 36 other suspects at the command headquarters, the State Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Abdur-rahman, said the pastor had on November 9, 2019, invited a female member of his church under the pretext of organising a crusade starting from 6pm. “On arrival, the pastor took her to his house and left while pre- tending to go and bring other people, who were supposed to participate in the programme, but he returned around 11pm and dragged her into his room, brought out a magic stone and threatened to kill her if she raised the alarm,” he said.

“He ordered her to remove her clothes, but the victim refused and the pastor slapped her and tore her clothes and raped her. Egbo seized her pants, brassiere and brought out a small bottle and wanted to insert it in her private parts, but she struggled and ran naked to the door and shouted, which attracted neighbours, who invited the police to rescue her and arrest the pastor.”

Blessing narrated to Saturday Sun how it all happened. Her words: “My mother and I and my younger brother have known Pastor Sunday for about two and a half years now.

We know him as the founder of Christ Mercy Ministry, Nsukka. His church has three branches. On November 9, 2019, he called my mother on the phone around 3pm to ask her to allow me attend a prayer crusade taking place in his church that evening from 6pm. My mother then called me to relay his message. Pas- tor Sunday told my mother to give me my younger brother’s photo-graph to come with for the crusade. But when I went to the church venue around 6 o’clock that evening I did not see anybody. I was surprised because everywhere was locked. I called him on the phone to ask whether the prayer crusade would no longer hold but he said he would send someone to bring me to his house because it would take place in his house and not the church. Later, he sent one lady to bring me to his house. Shortly, I arrived he got up and said he wants to go and bring some members of the church who are coming but who don’t know the way to his house.

“I waited and in the process dozed off. Around 11.30pm or so, Pastor Sunday walked in and found a little girl in his house and me sleeping in the parlour. He woke me up and asked me to come to his room. I refused. But he grabbed me and dragged me to his bedroom, tore my clothes, and forcefully removed my pants and brassieres. Then he brought a magic stone, waved it in my face and threatened to kill me if I shouted. He wanted to have his way. I resisted him but he slapped me. We started struggling. We did that for sometime before he eventually subdued me and forcefully had sex with me. Afterward, he brought a bottle and tried to insert it in my private part to collect the fluid com- ing out of it. But I quickly got up and ran to the bedroom door and started shouting and banging on it with all my power. He tried to stop me, to close my mouth, but he couldn’t.”

Neighbours and police come to the rescue

Saturday Sun learnt that when the screaming became unbearable, at that time of the night, neighbours came to find out what was going on. On hearing enquiring voices, Maduabuchi allegedly opened the bedroom door and pushed Bless- ing out naked into the living room and locked up the door. The self barricading of himself out of shame continued until operatives of the Anti-Trafficking Gender Unit of State Criminal Investigation Department, Enugu State Police Command, led by Gloria Udoka, a Superintendent of Police, assisted by policemen and women from Nsukka Police Division, arrived not only to arrest him but to also conduct a thorough search of his house. The police detectives were also said to have rushed the victim, Blessing, to a private hospital for medical treatment and report. Doctors were said to have confirmed lacerations in her private parts consistent with act of rape. She was discharged on November 11, 2019.

More can of worms opened

But the search opened up more cans of worms. The Deputy Commissioner of Police, State Criminal Investigation Department, Mrs. Janet Agbede, told Saturday Sun that the search in Maduabuchi’s house unearthed many curious finds: different pants, brassieres, mirror, small coffin, flute, calabash, candles, black soap, incense, baby clothes which the State Commissioner of Police, Mr. Ahmed Abdul-rahman believes are being used by the culprit pastor for ritualistic purposes but Maduabuchi claim that some of the items like baby clothes were brought to him by members, on instructions though, for prayers. He told journalists that he procured the coffin and other items from a native doctor in Kogi State, with the hope of making money and attracting favour.

“I paid the native doctor N200, 000, to get the coffin and the flute,” he said. “He told me to do certain things, after which I will get a Ghana-Must-Go bag full of money in my room. But after two weeks, the money did not come as the na- tive doctor told me. In June 2019, I went to Kogi State and brought the coffin and some concoctions. Whenever I am going to church, I would put alligator pepper in my mouth and chew it and spray it on the horn (flute).” The alligator pepper and flute, he said, were supposed to act as a sort of invocatory charms that bring members, especially rich men rushing to his church. “I chew the alligator in the house before leaving home for the church.”

Signs of ritualism from the pastor

Blessing who hails from Amevo Oroko Nsukka Local Government, Enugu State, says she strongly believes the Abdul-rahman’s version of the story, of Maduabuchi being a ritualistic pastor. She explained that since the ugly incident, “we have found in his possession some pants and brassieres belonging to some ladies in the church who he always deceive with fake night vigil and fake crusade in his house after having sex with them. Like he did to me, he stole their pants and brassieres for ritual money. He would deceive some members looking for children to buy and bring baby clothes, promising that they would conceive and have a baby. But during deliverance session, he would forcefully have carnal knowledge of the women. He would then steal their pants and brassieres which he used for rituals for money. I didn’t know that all the prayer crusade and deliverance ses- sions he has doing for our family are fake and he has a mission. Pastor Sunday deceived my mother to send me to church crusade and he raped me and tried cleaned up the fluid from my body to use to make juju. Up till now I have not seen my pants and brassieres. I want them from him. He must give them back to me.”

While Maduabuchi who claims to be an orphan and a school dropout, vehemently protests his innocence regarding the accusation about his sleeping with his female church members and stealing their panties and brassieres for use in preparing money-making charms, he however admits to having carnal knowledge of them with the hope of being used by God to solve their infertility problem. Their panties and brassieres he keeps are to also help them conceive after he had passed magic stone across them, he claimed.

“I started having sex with some of the ladies in my church when they lodged complaints about their barrenness,” he confessed. “I promised to assist them through prayers and deliverance. It is when I invite them to my house that I do have sex with them. I sometimes do use incantations on them.”

Maduabuchi admits culpability in the rape saga

The man who hails from Nara Unateze community in Nkanu East Local Government, Enugu State said: “I am an orphan because I had lost my father and my mother when I was young. In fact, my mother died

while I was eight-years-old. I started following men of God in Lagos 10 years ago. But I started my own min- istry, Christ Mercy Ministry in 2014. I have over 300 members in my church. I have three branches one of which is at Ihu Owere Nsukka. There is another one at Onitsha.”

Admitting having forceful car- nal knowledge of Blessing, he said he regrets his action and therefore pleaded for mercy. His version of the story: “On November 9, 2019, I deceived the mother of Blessing that I have a church crusade. I asked her to tell Blessing to come to the church crusade. I told her mother to ask her to bring the picture of her younger brother who was sick. When Blessing got to the church for crusade, she didn’t see anybody. I sent one lady to bring her to my house and then went away. I came back in the night. I dragged her to my room and threatened her with juju. I asked her not to shout and threatened to kill her if she did. I asked her to remove her clothes. She refused so I used force to remove both her clothes and her underwear and brassieres and raped her. I took a bottle and wanted to collect the sex fluid from her vagina but she started shouting and that’s how our neighbours came to her rescue.”

CP Abdul-rahman added that Maduabuchi’s arrest should serve as a lesson for every parent especially mothers to always be careful with some so-called clerics and to always be vigilant over their children. He promised that he would be charged to court to face the wrath the law as soon as investigation into his case is concluded.

Church members shocked, react

When Saturday Sun visited his church at Igbakwe Nkwo, Nsukka some church members who were waiting for him for prayers were confused as to what to do and what to make of the rumour making the rounds concerning his sexual es- capades with some of the female church members. Some of them said that although they heard the rumour of his arrest, they started believing it when church service did not hold the following Sunday.

One of them, Mr. Chukwudi Alloy added that it was difficult to believe what happened to Pastor Sunday until police detectives came to his house on November 10, 2019 to search his house and found coffin and different pants and brassieres, candles, horn which he used in in- cantations before the start of worship.

Referring to Blessing’s case, he said: “We learnt that he raped the daughter of one of the female mem- bers of our church. We learnt that he has not released her pants and brassieres. Since I learnt this information I have withdrawn my family from his church. I started attending his church over a year ago. I also learnt that other members have started withdrawing their families from the church. In fact the entire Nsukka environ has heard what happened. This is the mark of end time. It is written we will have fake pastors calling the name of God. It is a shame to hear that our Pastor Sunday is now one of them.”

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Source: Sun News