32-year-old Michael Akpan of Ikeja, Nigeria has been charged with raping a woman while he posed as a pastor. Akpan was arraigned yesterday for rape at an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court.
The alleged act took place on August 17 at Akpan’s place of residence. After meeting an unsuspecting 29-year-old woman on the street, Akpan convinced her that he was a pastor that could cure her of “satanic oppression.”
Akpan directed the unidentified woman to buy seven bottles of olive oil for cleansing purposes and to meet him at his home.
After she arrived, Akpan shut his door and raped her, as reports My Nation News.
The Chief Magistrate, Mrs. Jadesola Adeyemi –Ajayi commented that Akpan was released on bail held at N200,000 or $549.54. Adeyemi-Ajayi also demanded an additional N20,000 or $55.24 as a condition of his release.
The case has been adjourned until October 10.
Rape is a cultural epidemic that is under-discussed and taken too lightly in Africa.
On August 3, 23-year-old Khensani Maseko of South Africa committed suicide after being raped by another student three months prior.
She reported her assault in July and was scheduled to return back to school on August 6 for the commencement of an investigation. She agreed to take time away from school to process the tragic event.
The alleged assailant has since been suspended from the university and an official investigation has been launched to ascertain the events that unfolded before Maseko’s death.
Maseko was explicitly vocal about the unfortunate culture of rape on her campus and in South Africa as a whole while entrenching herself in school activities; she was a member of the university’s Student Representative Council (SRF) and the Economic Freedom Fighters (EEF) party student group. All the while earning her law degree.
“This is not just about the university, this is something that our society has failed to acknowledge,” Maseko’s friend Florence Bagonza adamantly stated as she referred to rape culture.
