A septuagenarian cleric, Rev. Isaac Newton-Wusu, has been arraigned before an Ogun State High Court sitting in Isabo, Abeokuta, for allegedly raping some female pupils of the Stephen Centre International School in Abeokuta.
Newton-Wusu, who is also the Director of Home School, was accused of assaulting and raping some pupils of the school between the ages of 12 and 16 years.
The Abeokuta centre of the school was established some decades ago to serve as a shelter and educational facility for children, who were either orphaned or had lost either of their parents to violence in Kaduna, Jos and insurgency in different parts of the North-East.
The cleric was arraigned on Thursday on five counts bordering on rape and indecent assault contrary to and punishable under sections 358, 359 and 360 of the Criminal Code, Vol. 1, Revised Law of Ogun State, 2016.
He, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In the charge sheet obtained by our correspondent, Newton-Wusu was alleged to have raped one of the victims on four different occasions sometime in 2010 at his office in Abeokuta.
The septuagenarian was also accused of assaulting some of the female pupils of the school by allegedly ripping off their underwear and forcefully having carnal knowledge of them.
However, when the case was mentioned at the High Court 6 in Abeokuta, the defence counsel, Samuel Nwaji, appealed to the court to grant the accused bail.
Nwaji pleaded that Newton-Wusu should be granted bail on his recognisance, promising that the accused would not flee but would face the trial.
He prayed the court to admit the defendant to bail on liberal terms.
Nwaji said, โThis defendant has a nature that he will be submissive to the court. He is seriously sick and I am even surprised that he came to the court today. This shows that he places the court in high esteem and I am certain that he will not defile the bail if it is granted.
โI pray you to grant the defendant bail on his recognisance and give us 48 hours to perfect the bail conditions.โ
In his counter argument, the state counsel, Solomon Mareh, insisted that the cleric was not who the defence counsel described him to be.
Mareh claimed that Newton-Wusu had a penchant for tampering with witnesses.
Justice Solomon Olugbemi, however, granted the defendant bail in the sum of N5m with two sureties in like sum, who must show evidence of three yearsโ tax payment.
She added that the sureties must be blood relations of the defendants and reside within the courtโs jurisdiction.
Justice Olugbemi adjourned the case till April 4 for hearing of the preliminary objection to the suit.
The judge, however, remanded the defendant in the Kirikiri Prison in Lagos pending when the bail conditions would be perfected.
