One of the most difficult crimes to prove in court is rape because it is a crime that rarely boasts of eyewitness accounts. And many rape victims feel too shocked and ashamed to speak of their ordeal hence more often than not rapist walk free while their violated victims die in shame and anguish. No thanks to a society flawed against women.
Pastor Biodun of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA) they say is a man with a horrible past who became saved by Christ and has been preaching a variant of the gospel called hip –hop which appeals to the youths, and he has made a fortune from his weird assembly. Now it appears his bubble is bursting not because of what he did as an unbeliever but for what he did as a consecrated servant of the Most High. I hate what is happening to him and I hope he is innocent, but if he is not, I suppose the best he can do now is not to dig in but to come out clean, after-all our God is in the business of forgiving sins and will always forgive a repentant sinner.
So far, two ladies, Ese Walters and Busola Dakolo have openly accused Pastor Biodun of rape, an allegation he has denied claiming he never raped anyone even in his days as an unbeliever. ‘No one refuses him’. He is rich, handsome and powerful. Notably, in all his denials, Biodun who is a married pastor never refuted knowledge of his accusers and also didn’t refute that he had sexual relationship with them or like Trump will say he never said ‘they are not my type’.
In this discuss, I will concentrate on Busola’s story which has been trending in the social media and what her motives could be. The celebrity photographer is not looking for fame. She is married with a family to protect. Only the quest for higher nobility will make her resurrect an affair of 20 years that will culminate in her accusing Pastor Biodun of sexually molesting her when she was a teenager.
How it all started: Busola explained that her sisters introduced her to a new Hip-Hop gathering in Ilorin called the Divine Delight Club where young people gathered to worship God.
Busola revealed that on attending the church, she met Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo and introduced herself as a first timer. They struck a conversation after which Busola accepted the Pastors invitation to volunteer her time to sing with the choir. Busola explained that she became close to the Pastor who became like a mentor and a father figure whom she trusted.
She narrated that the pastor came to her house in Ilorin one Monday morning when she was alone with one of her sisters. Her mother had travelled with her junior sister. Busola explained that she lived in a big house whereby someone upstairs would not know what is going on in other parts of the house. According to her, when she answered the door, the pastor without uttering a word just pushed her to one of the chairs in the living room and forced his way several times into her that blood even dropped on the floor.
She then explained that Pastor Biodun told her she should be happy a man of God did what he did to her. Busola claimed that after everything had happened and the pastor left, she cleaned up the blood, and had her bath several times that day. She also recounted that she was scared to tell her sisters due to the fact that the pastor used to preach about his past as a deadly cult member. Despite the terrible ordeal, she explained that she still attended the church service the following Sunday with her sisters because they were workers in the church and she had not told them what happened to her out of fear and perhaps shame.
According to her, Pastor Biodun’s topic for that Sunday service was God’s grace as he kept explaining that the grace of God covers all sins no matter what a person has done. Busola recounted that after the service, one of the protocols came to her and explained that Biodun’s wife had requested for her help to take care of their newborn daughter. Obviously surprised, Busola said she turned to her sister and asked why the pastor’s wife would ask for her help and her sister allayed her fears saying it was normal for church members to go and help the pastor at home occasionally. Just as she was still discussing with her sister, she said Pastor Biodun came and said he would come and pick her to the house soon.
At the pastor’s house when she was cleaning, she claimed that the pastor sexually smacked her backside and told her nobody refuses him. When it was time for her to go home, the pastor insisted on dropping her off himself. The lady explained that as they were driving to her house, the pastor took a detour and drove to an isolated place on the road where he molested her the second time. Busola claimed the pastor dragged her out of the passenger side and dragged her to the bonnet of the car where he sexually abused her the second time.
Busola explained that after the second ordeal, she was no longer active in the church’s choir and she avoided being alone with the pastor. She explained that one night, her sister told her about a dream she had some time ago. In the dream, the sister had seen Busola crying with blood on the floor and Pastor Biodun with her. Busola tried to deny to her sister that anything had happened till she burst out crying and confessing to her. Her sister made sure they told her other siblings. She also explained that her brother was so angry that he took a pocket knife, grabbed her and took her to the pastor’s house where he vowed to kill the pastor for hurting his sister. Busola explained that once the pastor saw her approaching with her brother, he rushed out to meet them and started pleading that it was the fault of the devil. The pastor had reportedly made sure they returned to their house where he pacified her along with two other pastors as they claimed his cultism past was affecting him.
From Busola’s story and Biodun’s denial which I have read, I cannot say she wasn’t raped going by the legal definition of rape as unlawful carnal knowledge of person without her consent and if with her consent obtained by force , fraud , intimidation , deceit or violence. Here the ingredients to sustain a conviction of rape are (1) There was sexual intercourse (2) The sex is without consent (3) The person is not your spouse (4) The act was performed by the accused (5) There is mensrea (6) if with consent the act was obtained by force, intimidation, fraud, deceit, threat of violence or actual application of violence or the victim is a minor,
I am certain that Busola is not looking for fame, fortune or revenge. What Busola wants is to heal. Busola wants justice, not for herself but for many other young girls who may have fallen victims. Before Busola, another lady had claimed being raped by same pastor and there could many others out there given that the church or club is run like a divine whore house.
Though a strong and courageous lady, Busola Dakolo needs our shoulder to lean on as she heals and our support as she confronts this ubiquitous monster. If I could demand for the resignation of corrupt politicians, I should also demand for the resignation of randy pastors from the pulpit as their actions are damaging the body of Christ. If Biodun feels he has been wrongfully accused he should make real his threat to sue for the defamation of his name and ministry. Nigerians deserve to know the truth or what do you think?