More than two decades after the alleged incidents, two former members of a church group for young girls have broken their silence, accusing the founder and General Overseer of Living Christ Mission, Obiajunwa Onukogu, popularly known as Daddy Hezekiah, of sexually abusing them while they were minors.
The women, Kelechi Ibe, 39, and Onyekachi J. Eze, 40, said they decided to publicly share their experiences after years of fear and silence, alleging that the incidents occurred during church programmes in the 1990s.
In separate written testimonies, the women claimed that the alleged abuse took place when they belonged to the “Princess of Daddy Hezekiah,” a church group for young girls who participated in programmes in Port Harcourt, Onitsha and the church headquarters in Nkwere, Imo State.
According to their accounts, parents often left after the opening days of conventions, leaving their children in the care of church officials until the programmes ended.
The women alleged that they were repeatedly summoned to the cleric’s private quarters under the pretext of confirming that they had remained virgins. They claimed they were subjected to inappropriate sexual touching while they were still minors.
They further alleged that they were warned not to disclose the incidents to anyone, including their parents or fellow members of the group, leaving them too frightened to speak out for years.
Ibe said the alleged abuse began when she was about 12 or 13 years old and occurred repeatedly during church conventions. She said she eventually disclosed her experience after she and her sister, also a former member of the group, compared their experiences after leaving the church.
Eze similarly alleged that her experience began during a church visit to Onitsha and continued after she joined the same group in Port Harcourt.
The women said they later discovered similarities in their experiences and believe other former members of the group may have had similar encounters.
They identified some individuals they said have also come forward as Nkechi Nwofor, Angela Michael, Sopuruchukwu, Nkiru Arum, Vivian Nmezi and Ihegboro Chibuzo.
The women said the alleged experiences had long-lasting emotional effects and expressed hope that their testimonies would encourage other survivors to come forward.
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The allegations have not been independently verified, and no court has made any findings on the claims.
Efforts to obtain a response from Onukogu and Living Christ Mission were unsuccessful as of the time of filing this report.
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