A Kwara State High Court in Ilorin has sentenced a Pentecostal pastor to life imprisonment after finding him guilty of repeatedly sexually abusing three underage girls under his spiritual care, forcibly terminating their pregnancies, and illegally keeping a firearm on church premises.
Justice Hammed Gegele delivered the verdict on Wednesday, convicting Pastor Ajiboye Olayinka, General Overseer of the Mission House of Divine Land of Joy and Prayer Ministry, on multiple counts including unlawful sexual intercourse with minors, illegal abortion, and unlawful possession of firearms.
The judge described the cleric as “a pedophile and philanderer” and declared that he had “turned his victims into sex machines, abusing them physically and mentally,” adding that such conduct was condemnable and had no place in any decent society.
Delivering his ruling, Justice Gegele held that Olayinka exploited his religious authority to manipulate and defile underage girls entrusted to his pastoral care, subjecting them to sustained physical and psychological abuse over a prolonged period.
The court heard that the convicted pastor repeatedly impregnated some of the victims and compelled them to undergo abortions, threatening them with death if they disclosed the assaults. He allegedly forced the girls to swear oaths of secrecy on the Bible to ensure their silence.
In one particularly chilling account placed before the court, a victim testified that the defendant lured her into a generator room where he forcibly had sexual intercourse with her, using anointing oil as a lubricant. The same victim told the court she was regularly roused from sleep after night vigils for repeated sexual encounters at his instigation.
For the offences of unlawful sexual intercourse with minors, the court imposed three separate life imprisonment terms. Olayinka received an additional 14 years for procuring illegal abortions connected to pregnancies he caused.
The eight-count charge against the pastor had bordered on criminal conspiracy, unlawful sexual intercourse with minors, illegal abortion, and unlawful possession of firearms, contrary to Sections 97, 235, and 283 of the Penal Code, Section 3(1) of the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Act, 2004, and Section 31(2) of the Kwara State Child Rights Law, 2006.
The prosecution, led by Chief State Counsel Issa Zakari, called 12 witnesses and tendered multiple exhibits to establish its case. Both parties adopted their final written addresses on February 11, 2026, following cross-examination of the defendant and his witnesses.
Justice Gegele additionally ordered the forfeiture of a pump-action gun recovered from the convict to the Federal Government.
