Four boys, ages 17, have been remanded by Nigeria’s Abeokuta Magistrates’ Court for raping a 16-year-old girl inside a church’s toilet during an all-night service and then sharing video footage of the incident on TikTok and WhatsApp.
The court adjourned the case till August 2, 2023, pending advice from the Ogun State’s Director of Public Prosecution.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, the teenagers will be kept in the custody of the Borstal Correctional Center at Adigbe, Abeokuta Ogun till the next hearing date.
The suspects, all of whom are students, live with their parents at Ikosi Ketu, Lagos State. They are being tried for conspiracy, rape and cyberbullying.
Magistrate, Bola Osunsanmi, did not take their pleas before remanding them and adjourning the case.
ASP Raji Akeem, the prosecutor told the court that the minors committed the alleged offences on June 3, at Celestial Church of Christ, Ikosi Ketu, Lagos while a vigil was ongoing.
The police boss said the offences contravened Sections 150, 210 and 411 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Relatedly, a police investigation has commenced into the defilement and impregnation of a 15-year-old girl by a pastor who then asked her parents to abort the pregnancy.
Nigeria’s Rivers State Police Command arrested the pastor of the Gracious Covenant Church, identified simply as Pillar, following a complaint by an in-law of the victim, Amesi ThankGod.
According to reports, the minor and her mother were members of the suspect’s church before he took advantage of her.