Priest arrested for allegedly raping several teenage boys

                              

The police in Lagos have arrested a Catholic priest for raping teenage boys.

Chizemdere Ezuma, a reverend father, was arrested in the Ejigbo area of Lagos State

Bala Elkanah, the Lagos police spokesperson, said in a statement Friday that the suspect, who is also the founder of ‘Jesus Intervention Household Ministry,’ forcefully penetrated the boys through the anus.

According to the statement, a case of defilement of a minor was reported to the Ejigbo Police Station by a citizen and investigations revealed Ezuma as the perpetrator of the crime.

Ezuma was said to be part of a syndicate raping teenagers in the community and has been at large for about three months but often sneaks into his residence through the back door.

However, on March 21, the police said it received credible information that the reverend father snuck into his residence, making the police to lay a siege of his residence.

“Having discovered that police have cordoned his house, the reverend hid himself in the ceiling for two hours. He was however arrested,” the police said.

“Investigation has it that Reverend Prince Ezuma brought in about 15 boys into his apartment where he forcefully penetrated them all through the anus.


“Some members of the neighbourhood revealed that the reverend usually washes six bedsheets daily whenever he brings in little children, suspected to be his sex partners.”

Upon interrogation, the police said Ezuma revealed that he is HIV positive and has been receiving treatment for over three years.

Despite his health status, the reverend kept on raping teenagers with some of them infected with HIV, the police said.

“One of the victims of the reverend’s defilement, a 16-year old, was infected around October 2018,” Elkanah said.

Police said its investigations showed that Ezuma gives the teenagers N2,000 each time he rapes them and that he would be charged to court soon.

Ezuma’s case comes amidst a global review of the actions of some Catholic priests in molesting young boys. Such cases have been reported in the U.S., Australia and other countries. The head of the Catholic Church, Pope Francis, has had to apologise in some of the countries affected.

Neither the Pope nor the Catholic leadership in Nigeria has reacted to the latest arrest in Lagos.

On Friday, the Lagos police also said they arrested one Ajayi Akintunde, a 29-year-old teacher at Fazir I Omar Senior High School, Iwaya, Yaba, for allegedly having oral sex with a female SS2 Student for marks.

The police said they are still investigating the matter.