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A pastor, Simon Okehielem, popularly often called Ebube Marvel, has been remanded in custody by an Edo State Excessive Courtroom following his arraignment over the alleged rape of a married lady and fathering a toddler because of the incident.
The case, prosecuted by the Edo State Police Command, stems from a March 2024 incident within the Ugolor group, the place Okehielem, founding father of Ebube Wonders Synagogue Prayers Ministry, was accused of sexually assaulting Mrs. Isoken Aigbedo Owie, a housewife.
In response to the complainant’s counsel, Barrister Clinton Ogbebor, a petition was submitted to the Commissioner of Police, prompting an investigation. Regardless of preliminary challenges in finding the accused, Pastor Okehielem was finally arrested after months of evading regulation enforcement.
A DNA check ordered throughout the investigation confirmed a 99.9% match between the kid born to the sufferer and the accused, prompting renewed motion by the police and the suspect’s re-arrest.
Throughout Thursday’s courtroom proceedings on the Edo State Excessive Courtroom, Prison Division, presiding decide Justice Erhabor ordered that the accused be remanded on the Benin Correctional Centre. The courtroom additionally directed that the case file be duplicated and forwarded to the workplace of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for authorized recommendation.
Chatting with journalists after the listening to, Barrister Ogbebor counseled the police for his or her skilled dealing with of the case.
“The DNA outcomes clearly established paternity, and this has introduced us to the arraignment stage,” he stated.
He added that the case had drawn consideration as a result of suspect’s position as a spiritual chief and the intense nature of the allegations.
“This matter isn’t solely about justice for the sufferer, but in addition about reinforcing public belief in authorized processes,” he stated.
Counsel to the defendant, Barrister Samson Okehielem, nonetheless, expressed dissatisfaction with the arraignment, describing it as untimely and a violation of his consumer’s rights.
He argued {that a} elementary rights utility had already been filed to problem the legality of the arrest and to restrain the police.
“They rushed to courtroom to humiliate and paint him as a pretend pastor with out following due course of,” he claimed.
The case is now awaiting authorized recommendation from the DPP earlier than additional proceedings can proceed.
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