Ayodele Olalere
Three clerics, Jacob Farinmade, Abraham Olujobi and Olatunde Taiwo, on Wednesday were remanded in Kirikiri Maximum Prison for allegedly raping and abusing the corpses of their congregants.
They were re-arraigned before an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court by the state government on eight-count charge.
The defendants however pleaded not guilty to three charges of conspiracy and misconduct with regards to a corpse.
According to the lead state prosecutor, Mr Olusola Soneye, the defendants committed the offence at the Celestial Church of Christ Gospel Mission, No. 15/23 Pipeline Street, Ipaja, Lagos, in 2015.
“The defendants sometime in 2015, indecently cut open the corpse of Deborah Elijah for the purpose of separating her from her foetus prior to burial.
“They treated the corpse of one Olubunmi Saliu in an undignified manner by burying her in a shallow grave in the church premises,” he said.
Soneye said that Farinmade while being the reverend in charge of the church, allegedly raped three women (names withheld) and unlawfully detained one of the women.
“Farinmade also authorised the burial of Deborah Elijah in an adjourning land at the Celestial Church Gospel Mission without the relevant consent of the Local Government Authority,” he said.
The prosecution said offences contravened Sections 144, 165, 260 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos 2015. Trial has been fixed for December 16,2021.
