DAILY TRUST
Rev. Fr. Nwaigwe Stephen, a Catholic Priest in Anambra state, has been remanded for allegedly raping and impregnating a teenager.
An Awka Chief Magistrates’ Court, otherwise known as the Children, Sexual and Gender-Based Violence Court , Anambra State remanded the priest in prison till December 6, 2023.
The magistrate ordered the prosecutor to transmit the original case file to the office of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice of Anambra State.
The priest was also accused of forcefully taking the pregnant minor to Benin City, Edo State, where she was delivered of her baby, but police investigation revealed that the whereabouts of the said baby is still unknown.
The offence of having sexual intercourse with a minor, is punishable under section 34(2) of the Child’s Rights Law of Anambra State, 2004.
Nwaigwe was among the priests expelled by a popular Catholic Faith-Based Religious Congregation in Orlu, Imo State, known as the Two Hearts of Love Congregation” (Ugwu Nso) in 2018, for alleged misconduct inimical to the image of the order.
The priest had reportedly met the teenager at the St. Albert The Great Catholic Church Parish, Obosi, Anambra State, where he was invited for a religious church programme.
According to the victim, while answering questions in court during remand proceedings on Monday November 20, 2023, the priest took her from her parents to live with him when she was 14 years old, promising to sponsor her education, while she equally served as his cook.
She stated that not long after she moved into the priest’s house, he started forcing himself sexually on her, saying he continued the act until she became pregnant at the age of 17.
The minor further stated that when she informed the priest about her pregnancy, the priest took her from Ihiala Anambra State, where they lived, to somewhere in Benin City, Edo, to the house of a man and woman who the priest introduced to her as his brother and brother’s wife.
