An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic and Violence Court, on Tuesday, convicted and sentenced a 51-year-old Pastor, Nduka Anyanwu, to life imprisonment for defiling and impregnating two teenage sisters.
Justice Abiola Soladoye handed down the sentence after finding Anyanwu guilty of the offence.
Anyanwu was arraigned on April 17, 2022, on two counts of defilement by the Lagos State Government.
The offence was said to have been committed between 2019 and August 2020 at Arowojobe Street, in the Oshodi area of the state.
According to the prosecution, the offence is punishable under Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2015.
The defendant pleaded not guilty when he was arraigned, trial commenced and ended on October 11, 2022.
The prosecution called six witnesses, while the defendant testified as his sole witness.
When the matter came up on Tuesday for judgment, Olushola Shoneye announced his appearance for the state, but the defence was not represented.
During the trial, the first prosecution witness testified that though she is now 15-years-old, she was 13-years-old at the time incident happened.
She testified that the defendant was known to her as the pastor of their church and that he had been having sex with her and warned her not to tell anyone.
The victim stated that the defendant said she would not get pregnant, but she eventually got pregnant and had a child for the defendant.
The second prosecution witness, the elder sister to PW1, now 19-years-old, but was 17-years-old at the time of the incident, collaborated the first witness’ testimony that the defendant was their pastor.
She narrated how the defendant had sexual intercourse with her with the consent of her parents, that he would take her abroad for greener pastures, and she started visiting him.