Two high courts in Nigeria have delivered landmark verdicts in separate criminal cases involving prominent religious figures, handing down sentences of death and life imprisonment for murder and sexual abuse.
In Lafia, Nasarawa State, Justice Simon Aboki sentenced gospel singer Timileyin Ajayi to death by hanging for the murder of Salome Adaidu, a member of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) and his alleged girlfriend. Ajayi was found guilty of culpable homicide under Section 221 of the Penal Code, after confessing in court to killing Adaidu in a fit of rage over alleged infidelity.
“I didn’t plan to kill her,” Ajayi told the court. “She hides things from me. I saw messages from other guys and got angry.” The court noted his complete lack of remorse during the proceedings.
In a separate case, a High Court in Calabar, Cross River State, sentenced self-proclaimed cleric and church founder Apostle Favour Mexy Okoise to life imprisonment on multiple counts of rape and obtaining by false pretences. The convictions were handed down in two cases—HC-12C/2024 and HC-FC-5C/2024—on June 16 and 17.
Okoise, founder of The Refiner’s Fire Church and a native of Esan West, Edo State, was found guilty of raping multiple women, including a 16-year-old, after coercing them into sex under the guise of “spiritual initiation.” According to legal practitioner Doris Nduanusi, who represented the victims, Okoise manipulated female congregants by claiming the acts were a divine rite of passage.
“He told them it was a ‘special dealing’ with the Holy Spirit,” Nduanusi said.
Despite his February 2024 remand, church members were told Okoise was “on the mountain interceding for their destinies,” only learning of the deception after his conviction. The presiding judge noted that the convicted pastor showed no remorse.
The Department of Public Prosecution, led by Okoi E. Ukam and Cletus Adama of the Cross River State Ministry of Justice, prosecuted the case, with support from the civil society group Gender and Development Action (GADA), led by Ambassador Nkoyo Toyo.
Concerns have since emerged over the church’s continued operations under a new location in Nasarawa, with reports of ongoing affiliations between The Refiner’s Fire Church and senior pastors in the region.
“The government must urgently dismantle the network that enabled such abuse,” Nduanusi warned.
It remains unclear whether the church is officially registered with the Pentecostal Fellowship of Nigeria (PFN), though alleged links with senior PFN officials are under scrutiny.
The Cross River State Ministry of Justice, which has secured multiple convictions this year in cases of attempted murder, armed robbery, kidnapping, and arson, reaffirmed its commitment to justice and the protection of vulnerable citizens.
