Nigerian Pastor Chained to Hospital Bed in Benin Republic: "A Sad Case"
- President Bola Tinubu's minister of state for foreign affairs, Bianca Ojukwu, has narrated the story of a Nigerian pastor imprisoned in the Benin Republic
- Ojukwu said the cleric, identified as Pastor Benjamin Egbaji, from Cross River, was imprisoned over r@pe charges, for which there was no evidence to substantiate the allegation
- However, the cleric is facing critical health challenges, and he is being chained to a hospital bed where she is receiving treatment
Bianca Ojukwu, the wife of the late Igbo warlord Odumegwu Ojukwu and President Bola Tinubu's minister of state for foreign affairs, has recounted her experience when she visited a Nigerian pastor who was under detention in the Benin Republic.
Ojukwu, in a tweet on Thursday, August 21, said that the cleric was being detained "under unclear circumstances", adding that the religious leader, identified as Pastor Benjamin Egbaji, from Cross River State, has been in prison for the past two years.
Source: Twitter
Why Benin Republic imprison a Nigerian pastor
The minister explained that Benjamin was imprisoned on charges of r@pe but was critically ill. She disclosed that she had visited the hospital where the cleric was receiving treatment, following a petition written to her ministry about him.
She narrated that Pastor Benjamin was receiving treatment at the Central National Hospital Universitaire, Benin Republic. She has paid a visit with her team from Nigeria's foreign affairs ministry and the Nigerian embassy in the neighbouring country.
According to the minister:
"He was in chains even in the hospital, and upon seeing me, he broke down in tears."
Tinubu minister vows justice for Nigerian pastor
She said that she assured the cleric that Nigeria would not abandon him and that the West African country would ensure justice is served on the matter. The minister disclosed that Pastor Benjamin was accused by a citizen of Benin, named Pede Victoire.
Source: Twitter
Victoire claimed that the Nigerian cleric r@ped her daughter, named Ahouandjinou Dona Sarah, when the child was still 13 years old. However, the minister disclosed that the matter was never reported or complained about. She also explained that there was no evidence to substantiate the allegations.
The minister then disclosed that Sarah herself has come forward to refute the claim of r@pe in a surprising turn of events, and that the matter is now in the appeal court.
According to Ojukwu, President Tinubu has mandated that the welfare and interests of Nigerian nationals in distress, wherever they find themselves outside the shores of Nigeria, should be prioritised.
See her tweet here:
Ojukwu speaks on Tinubu's visit to the Vatican
Legit.ng earlier reported that President Bola Tinubu's minister of state for foreign affairs, Bianca Ojukwu, has disclosed what happened between the president and former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Bianca, in a Facebook post, explained that what happened was a mere pleasantries between the two political leaders.
The minister then condemned the ethnical interpretation some Nigerians have given to the event between Tinubu and Peter Obi at the Vatican on Sunday, May 23.
Source: Legit.ng
