The Senior Pastor of Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA), Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo has broken the silence, saying he is innocent of the allegations levelled against him as he has never raped anyone before.
Busola Dakolo, a mom of three, in an interview with Chude Jideonwo, a Nigerian lawyer, journalist and media entrepreneur, revealed that she was raped repeatedly by the pastor at different times.
She said: “Immediately I opened the door (of her house in Ilorin), he just pushed me, he didn’t say anything, he didn’t utter any word, he just pushed me to one of the chairs in my living room. I saw him, he was removing his belt, he just said: ‘keep quiet, (put his hand on my mouth), do what I want you to do and you will be fine.”
Reacting to the story that has gone viral on social media, Fatoyinbo, in a statement on his Instagram page denied the act, saying “I have never raped before , not even as an unbeliever.”
He said he was aware that there had been a recent media publication on YouTube by YNaija operated by Red Media Group which showed an interview by Chude Jideonwo with Busola Dakolo.
According to him, prior till now, “we had adhered to our policy of ignoring rumours from social media accounts as we knew that several statements had been made to extort the church of money and myself through blackmail, harassment and intimidation.
“We have refused time and time again to accede to their request, which has infuriated them overtime, because of this, they have gotten more aggressive.
“Unlike previous statements where innuendos were used and there was no direct mention of myself or the church, the recent video released on YouTube has now made direct criminal allegations against me in the interview granted by Busola Dakolo which are fallacious, non-existent and which are all denied in every message.
“As an individual and as a Church, we love and support people, and we will never condone any form of abuse, rape, harassment, or intimidation of anybody. I have never in my life raped anybody even as an unbeliever and I am absolutely innocent of this.”
Read full statement here:
