Senior Pastor of the Chosen One To Rule Ministry, Asaba, Delta State, Chinonso Udemezue, accused of raping a 10-year-old boy has blamed “Yahoo boys” for his travails.

Udemezue insisted that his enemies were out to tarnish his image.

“It is fake news. ‘Yahoo-boys’ in the neighbourhood are the ones trying to set me up,” he told Saturday Punch.

Asked if he was arraigned for raping the boy, he confirmed that he was.

On why he thought the boy would make such an allegation, Udemezue replied, “I don’t know what they could have said to the boy to make him say such a thing.”

Gabriel’s aunty had narrated that her mother went to the pastor for spiritual counselling because he was a pastor they trusted.

“I lost my brother sometime ago and we did not want to lose my nephew too, that is why my mother went to the pastor for counselling and prayers.

“He said that we might lose him to kidnappers if my mother did not bring him to live with him for some time.

“When we decided to put the boy in our pastor’s custody, my mother asked how much would be needed to enrol him in a school and pastor said N45,000 which my mother gave to him,” she said.

Few weeks after Gabriel had been living with the pastor, some sympathisers brought him to his grandmother’s house and told her something had happened to the boy.

Gabriel’s aunty continued, “We asked him what was wrong and he told us how our pastor showed him a sex video on his phone one night.

“After that, he said pastor removed his clothes and brought out something like oil which he (pastor) robbed on himself and inserted his penis into his anus. He said it was the only time pastor did it.

“We screamed and raised the alarm. We then decided to go and report the matter to the police. (‘B’ Police Division, Asaba).

“After he was arrested, we went to the school where my nephew was enrolled and found out that the school was actually N25,000 not N45,000 the pastor told us.

“The school also said he had only paid N9,000 out of the money.‎”

On Thursday, the pastor was brought before the Okwe Magistrate’s Court, Asaba, on charges of child defilement and rape.

He pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Udemezue was released on a N100,000 bail with one surety in like sum by Magistrate Alero Ezewani.

The case was adjourned till March 13, 2018.