Seven ladies who went for night
vigil for deliverance in a new generation church, located at 2nd Cemetery
Road, Benin-City, were allegedly raped by armed bandits who stormed the church
at about 4am on Thursday.
The robbers were said to have earlier raided a building
near Ewuotubu community where they robbed some tenants living in four different
flats in the compound. It was learnt that two persons, including a police
officer, were shot dead while others sustained various degrees of injuries in
the process.
What was supposed to be an all-night marathon
prayer session , tagged ‘Koboko Night’, meant to cast out demons tormenting
some members of the church, turned sour as the masked armed robbers, numbering
six, shot sporadically, ordering the members to go back to the church shortly
after they said the final prayers to depart the church.
The robbers had, on storming the church
premises, rained bullets on the roof and ordered members to lie down. Consequently,
they raped the women.
One of the victims, who narrated her ordeal to
Vanguard, said, “Though I was not raped, I was beaten mercilessly when they
were asking us to identify the pastor and we refused. After collecting our
phones, money and jewelleries, they ordered some of the ladies to undress. They
threatened to kill them if they refused and, of course, they removed their
clothes and were raped one by one.
“It was actually two churches that they
attacked. They raped five women in our church. Later, we found out that they
raped two others in a church close to ours. They ransacked the church and
collected any cash they found and escaped. It was a horrible sight”.
The raped women are said to be receiving
treatment at an undisclosed hospital on Ekenwan Road, Benin City.
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