The senior pastor of the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA), Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo on Friday threatened to sue Nigerian singer Timi Dakolo, his wife Busola and other persons that have accused him of being a rapist. Busola, mother of three made the shocking revelation in a detailed interview with Chude Jideonwo, a lawyer and journalist on YNaija channel of how the Abuja-based cleric raped her as a teenager. The viral video report has set social media and other online platforms on fire, evoking shock, backlash and criticism from Nigerians, especially the Christian community; forcing Fatoyinbo to issue threats of legal action.

 

“The leadership of the church and I have briefed our lawyers to commence criminal and civil actions against all individuals making such false (rape) allegations whether directly or by proxy,” Fatoyinbo said in a statement on his Instagram page.

 

In the YNaija video published early Friday, Busola narrated how she was allegedly raped by Fatoyinbo at the age of 17. Busola said she was a 16-year-old in the Divine Delight Club at Ilorin, Kwara State, the precursor to Fatoyinbo’s Commonwealth of Zion Assembly when she was groomed and raped by the pastor. Busola explained that as a member of the church, she was raped at two different times in a week by the pastor, adding that she lost her virginity to him before she turned 18. She alleged that the pastor raped her for the first time at her parent’s home and at another time in a secluded road path.

 

Narrating one of the incidents, she said, “Someone knocked on the door around 6.30am or 7:00 a.m. It was pretty early; I was still in my nightgown. I asked who it was and he said Pastor Biodun. I was wondering what he was doing in our house so early. He was already married at that time and his wife had just given birth to a baby.

 

“Immediately I opened the door, h 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, do what I want you to do and you will be fine. He didn’t say anything after, left to his car, returned with a bottle of Krest and forced me to drink it, probably as some crude contraceptive.” She also said he told her, “You should be happy that a man of God did this to you.”

However, Fatoyinbo said that his church will pursue those that accused him of being of a rapist. “We will as a church pursue every measure within the ambits of the law to bring the culprits to justice.” The embattled preacher posted a statement on his Instagram page describing the allegation as a false and baseless claim targeted at destroying his reputation and that of his church. In the statement addressed from the “Office of the Senior Pastor,”, Fatoyinbo said: “I have never in my life raped anybody even as an unbeliever and I am absolutely innocent of this.”

 

In 2013, Pastor Fatoyinbo, popularly called “Gucci Pastor”, because of his flamboyant fashion style, was also entangled in an allegation of rape and infidelity with one Ese Walter, a former member of the church. “I will teach you a level of grace that you don’t understand-” Ese Walters alleged Fatoyinbo said after he raped her.

 

Eyebrows were also raised when Pastor Fatoyinbo celebrated his birthday at the seven-star Burj Al Arab hotel in Dubai on January 22, 2016 in a flamboyant and grandiose way and he followed it up with an all-white Yacht party which had Dr. Mike Murdock, Pastor Korede Adams, Tye Tribett, Anny, among many others in attendance. It was a classy affair and one of the most expensive parties in Dubai that year.