Foursquare Gospel Church has suspended one of its pastors, Dr. Boniface Igbeneghu who was caught in a sex-for-grades video released by the British Broadcasting Corporation today.
A statement issued by the national secretary of the church, Rev Ikechukwu Ugbaja said Igbeneghu, who is also a lecturer in the faculty of arts, University of Lagos, had been suspended from all ministerial assignments because of his “heinous and unscriptural acts.”
“The attention of the leadership of the Foursquare Gospel Church in Nigeria has been drawn to a video clip trending on social media platforms titled, ‘Sex for grades: Undercover in West Africa Universities – BBC News’ wherein a lecturer at the University of Lagos named Boniface Igbeneghu, also described as a pastor in Foursquare Gospel Church, was allegedly involved in sexual misconduct with some female students of the university.
“The general public is hereby informed that as holiness and Bible-believing church, we do not condone such heinous and unscriptural acts among our ministers.
“We totally dissociate ourselves from the purported conduct of Dr Igbeneghu and promise to take appropriate measures as soon as the ongoing investigation is concluded.
“Meanwhile, the pastor in question has been asked to step down from all ministerial assignments,” said the church.
In the 13-minute secret recording video that has been trending in the social and mainstream media, the BBC Africa Eye used a 17-year-old under-cover reporter who posed as a student to expose the lecturer.
The “student” endured a couple of sexual harassment from the Dr. Igbeneghu.
Igbeneghu, who invited the teenager to his office for a number of tutorials, subsequently began to have inappropriate conversations with her.
On their first meeting, he commented on her appearance.
The lecturer also revealed how his colleagues tossed and passed around UNILAG female students for sex.
He disclosed further how his colleagues patronised UNILAG Staff club ‘Cold room’ to commit series of atrocities on female students.
“Do you know that you are a very beautiful girl,” he asked her.
“Do you know that I am a pastor and I’m in my 50s? What will shock you is that even at my age now, if I want a girl of your age – a 17-year-old, all I need is to sweet tongue her and put some money in her hand and I’ll get her,” Igbeneghu said to her on camera.
At the second meeting, he asked the ‘student’: “What age do you start knowing men. Be assured that your mother will not hear.”
Reacting to the allegation, the former minister of education, r. Oby Ezekwesili took to her twitter handle and wrote: “I thank you @kikimordi for that ground-breaking piece of incisive investigative work with @BBCAfrica Eye.
“We should push for the findings to be acted on swiftly and decisively. We must curb the menace that corrodes our society across the board, not just educational institutions.”
