A pastor, Piller Erekwa, has been remanded to the maximum security custodial centre by a Chief Magistrate Court in Port Harcourt, River State. This is in relation to the alleged defilement and impregnation of a minor in Emohua Local Government Area of the state.
Erekwa, the presiding pastor of the Glorious Covenant Church, was apprehended last Thursday at Ndele by Rumuji Police Division. It was reported that he also threatened to kill the minor if she disclosed the incident and later suggested terminating the pregnancy, which her family opposed.
He was arraigned on a one-count charge of sexual abuse by the Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department of the Rivers State Police Command on Thursday, July 13, 2023. Erekwa pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a 15-year-old girl in Mgbuola village in Ndele, Emuoha LGA between December 2022 and January 2023. This act is punishable by the law of Rivers State.
The trial Magistrate, Ogeh Elkanah, adjourned the matter to July 19, 2023, for facts and sentencing, and demanded the suspect’s presence. Pastor Erekwa was accused of defiling and impregnating a teenager who is also a member of his church.
Meanwhile, the Police’s arraignment of the suspect in court has been commended by the Centre for Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign. The National Coordinator, Prince Wiro, also praised the family of the rape survivor for refusing to settle out of court.
The court presided over by Chief Magistrate Ogeh Elkanah at the Rivers State family court adjourned the matter to July 19, 2023, for facts and sentencing after remanding the suspect.