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Summary: General Overseer of Peculiar Generation Assembly Church, Chris Douglas, has been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for raping the 18-year-old daughter of his church member.
Chris Douglas, the 63-year-old General Overseer of Peculiar Generation Assembly Church, at Oshodi, Lagos State, has been convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for raping the 18-year-old daughter of his church member. This judgment was delivered by Justice Rahman Oshodi of Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, on Thursday, April 16, 2026.
According to the young girl, the rape initially started when the cleric drugged and raped her in September 2017, at a hotel. The abuse continued on several other occasions at both the hotel and the girl’s family residence throughout December 2017. The case was reported to a human rights organisation, the police at Makinde Division, and the Mirabel Centre for a medical examination.
Presenting the case at the court, the prosecution, Dr Babajide Martins, called five witnesses, including the girl, her mother, and a medical doctor. Medical and documentary exhibits were also tendered in as evidence.
The mother told the court that she confronted Chris after discovering the abuse.
“When I went to his church, he cried and said it was the work of the devil. He begged us in front of the elders,” she said.
“I trusted him like a spiritual father. I never imagined he could do this to me,” the young lady testified.
While Chris initially denied the allegation and insisted that the relationship was consensual, Justice Rahman rejected his claim, maintaining that the evidence before the court established rape beyond a reasonable doubt.
“The defence of consent is not supported by the totality of the evidence before the court,” he stated.
He further told Chris that he abused his position of authority and trust to exploit the young girl. He described the abuse as a gross breach of trust.
“The convict occupied a position of spiritual authority and was regarded as a father figure by the victim and her family.”
During the court session, the prosecution alleged that the abuse began in 2013 when the girl was 14 years old. However, Justice Rahman noted that incidents before January 2018 were not sufficiently proven to have occurred before the girl turned 18. Consequently, the life sentence was based on three established counts of rape that occurred when the young girl became an adult.
Justice Oshodi sentenced Douglas to life imprisonment on each count, holding that the sentences shall run concurrently.
“The law must protect the vulnerable, and this court will not hesitate to punish abuse of trust in the strongest terms,” the judge said.
The court also ordered that the convict’s name be entered into the Lagos State Sexual Offenders Register.
