Conviction Christian institutions & contexts Evangelical, Pentecostal, and independent Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria · 2021

Nigeria: self-styled prophet sentenced to life imprisonment for manslaughter after raping a woman seeking a cure for barrenness

Record class

Core record

Evidence status

Convicted

Authority role

self-acclaimed prophet, Palace of Mercy

Organization

Palace of Mercy

Spiritual nexus

The victim travelled from Lagos to Ado-Ekiti and placed herself in Oni's private care solely because he claimed spiritual power to cure her barrenness; that claimed power was the entire reason she submitted to being alone with him, and he used it directly as the mechanism of both the rape (via hypnosis) and the fatal injury (the purported ritual insertion of a curative substance).

Spiritual healing or treatment
Prophecy or divine command

Evidence structure

Proceedings

2021-07-01 · trial and sentencing

Ekiti State High Court, Ado-Ekiti, Nigeria. The Ekiti State High Court convicted self-acclaimed prophet Olakanye Oni of manslaughter and sentenced him to life imprisonment for the death of Gbadamosi Omowale, who died after Oni raped her and inserted a substance believed to be potash into her vagina, causing fatal internal decay.

Documented coercion mechanisms

claimed spiritual power to cure infertility, used to lure the victim from Lagos to his church
hypnosis, used to render the victim unable to resist
a purported ritual treatment (insertion of a substance believed to be potash) used as the direct instrument of assault and fatal injury
payment extracted from the victim for the claimed cure

Primary record

Sources

national press sentencing report The Guardian Nigeria, 'Prophet gets life imprisonment for manslaughter in Ekiti' (1 July 2021).: Reports the Ekiti State High Court in Ado-Ekiti sentenced self-acclaimed prophet Olakanye Oni to life imprisonment for the manslaughter of Gbadamosi Omowale, a Lagos resident he invited to his Palace of Mercy church in March 2017 on the pretense of curing her barrenness. States Oni hypnotized the victim, raped her, cleaned her with a handkerchief, and inserted a substance believed to be potash into her vagina, causing decay that led to her death; he had also collected fifty-two thousand naira from her.
national press sentencing report Vanguard, 'Prophet bags life imprisonment for sexual assault in Ekiti' (July 2021).: Corroborates the conviction and sentence, confirming the victim travelled to Ado-Ekiti specifically seeking a spiritual solution to infertility and died as a result of internal injuries from the assault.

Related record

Related cases · Christian institutions & contexts

← Explore all cases