He started having
sex with me in January and he did so repeatedly. He threatened me that I
would die if I told anyone and that he was the only one God had
directed to have sex with me," these were the words of 17 years
old Eunice Sonoye after her father, Prophet Elijah Sonoye, was arraigned
in a magistrate court for the wickedness he perpetrated on her.
Elijah Soneye is not only the father of 17-year-old Eunice Soneye, but also her feared tormentor. The 53-year-old was on 21 October dragged before Mr. A Adenariwo of Ota Magistrate Court, Ogun State, on a two-count charge of maltreating and inflicting grievous bodily injuries on Eunice as well committing indecent molestation and abuse on her.
Elijah Soneye is not only the father of 17-year-old Eunice Soneye, but also her feared tormentor. The 53-year-old was on 21 October dragged before Mr. A Adenariwo of Ota Magistrate Court, Ogun State, on a two-count charge of maltreating and inflicting grievous bodily injuries on Eunice as well committing indecent molestation and abuse on her.
The court was alarmed to see a frail Eunice with grosteque swellings
and deep cuts all over her arms and body. The adolescent girl was
helped into the courtroom by her mother, Rebecca, and older sister,
Sarah. The looks on their faces spoke of their trauma. Few minutes
after, the crowded court room was stricken with fear when Eunice,
drained of strength and unable to stand the rigour of the proceedings,
simply fainted.
Elijah was alleged to have
sexually assaulted Eunice on several occasions, by fondling and sucking
her breasts and asking her to massage his genitals. The scruffy
looking Elijah pleaded not guilty to the charge and was asked by the
magistrate to be remanded in police custody while the case was
adjourned till 17 November.
When NEWS magazine
visited Eunice in Ota, she lamented her ordeal in the hands of her
father. Though she initially claimed that her father only molested but
didn’t have sex with her, she later confessed that she said so for fear
of stigmatization. She described Elijah, a purported prophet and
founder of a Cherubim and Seraphim church called New World Covenant
Embassy, as cruel and wicked.
She said her sexual
enslavement in the hands of her father started when she and her
sister, Rebecca left their mother three years ago, to live with their
father, a former banker with defunct Savannah Bank. She said the
inability of their mother, who is estranged from the father, to cater
for them, compelled them to live with their father.
Unknown to them, it was a journey into
seclusion, want and cruelty. Eunice, who had just completed her Junior
Secondary School examination at the time, dropped out of school on the
instruction of her father. She claimed Elijah told her God asked him
to stop her schooling.
First to detect their
father’s evil intention was Sarah, who suddenly showed up at their
mother’s place. Sarah’s reason for leaving was her father’s alleged
pestering for sex. She refused him. Soon after Rebecca left, Elijah
deflowered Eunice and ensured that she was kept in the house as his
ready sex doll.
“He started having sex with me in January and he did so repeatedly. He threatened me that I would die if I told anyone and that he was the only one God had directed to have sex with me,” she explained amid sobs.
Eunice told NEWS that when the situation became unbearable, she ran
away from his house to put up with a woman called Iya Osun, hiding in the place for 15 days before her father found her out and forcefully took her back home.
At home, Elijah tied Eunice up for two days without food, constantly
whipping her. On the pretext of going to ease herself, Eunice escaped
from her father’s hell-hole and trekked several miles, from Sango Ota to
Ifo.
Without any money or relative, Eunice
sought refuge in a church after narrating her ordeal to them. Few days
after, the church asked her to leave for fear of being accused of
kidnapping her. She took refuge in another church, but was also asked
to leave after seven days. With the help of a good Samaritan, Eunice
returned to her mother, who she narrated her predicament to.
Speaking with the magazine, Eunice mother, Rebecca, said she left
Elijah because he was cruel to her. “I dared not ask questions or hold
any contrary opinion to his, he would beat me up mercilessly. None of
my family members could visit me because he said he didnt want to see them and once threw out my mother around 10p.m,” she recalled.
Eunice’s sister, Sarah, corroborated her mother’s remarks, adding that their father was the devil’s incarnate. Rebecca cursed and wailed, wishing that her violated daughter gets justice. Rebecca bore Sarah, Eunice and a boy named Michael for Elijah.
Eunice’s sister, Sarah, corroborated her mother’s remarks, adding that their father was the devil’s incarnate. Rebecca cursed and wailed, wishing that her violated daughter gets justice. Rebecca bore Sarah, Eunice and a boy named Michael for Elijah.
Source: Linda Ikeji
No comments:
Post a Comment