Atan: How N1,500 textbook fee led to defilement, pregnancy, family’s collapse

Atan: How N1,500 textbook fee led to defilement, pregnancy, family’s collapse

What began as a simple request for a ₦1,500 textbook spiraled into a harrowing ordeal for a family in Atan, Ogun State, exposing the dark underbelly of betrayal cloaked in religious robes.

Two and a half years ago, Blessing (not her real name), then a 12-year-old Primary Six pupil, was sent home from school for failing to pay for a textbook. With her mother busy at her hairdressing stall and her father away in Lagos working as an electrician, the young girl waited outside under the scorching sun—until a trusted neighbour, Pastor Oluwole Jonathan of Christ Apostolic Church, Land of Mercy, invited her into his apartment.

That invitation would change her life forever.

Pastor’s Betrayal

According to the girl, Pastor Jonathan offered her medication for a headache and insisted she take it, despite her protests. “He said, ‘Am I a stranger to you?’ and forced me to drink it,” she recounted tearfully. “When I woke up, I saw blood in my private part. He told me not to tell anyone or I would die.”

The trauma remained buried for months until her body began to change. Her mother initially mistook the symptoms for illness, but a pregnancy test confirmed the unimaginable—Blessing was five months pregnant.

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“I was tagged a bad mother and sent to my father’s house,” her mother said, still visibly shaken. “I cried every night, fearing how she would survive childbirth at such a young age.”

DNA Revelation and Arrest

The family’s trust was shattered when Blessing named Pastor Jonathan as the perpetrator. Her father, devastated, reported the matter to the community development association (CDA), which led to the pastor’s arrest. Though he initially denied the accusation, DNA tests confirmed he was the father of the child.

The case was taken up by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Ogun State chapter, and supported by Spring Centre, an NGO that provided shelter, medical care, and counselling for the victim.

In January 2025, the High Court in Ilaro found Pastor Jonathan guilty of defilement and sentenced him to 21 years in prison.

Lingering Trauma

Despite the conviction, the family’s pain persists. Blessing, now a teenage mother, struggles with behavioural issues. She frequently absconded from school, claiming to hear voices urging her to leave. Her parents, fearing for her safety, withdrew her from formal education and enrolled her in a tailoring workshop near their home in Ifo.

“She would disappear for days and end up at police stations,” her father said. “We had no choice but to keep her close.”

Call for Stronger Laws

The family’s ordeal underscores the urgent need for tougher penalties against child defilement. With the Senate currently proposing life imprisonment for such offences, many hope it will serve as a deterrent to predators hiding behind positions of trust.

For Blessing and her family, justice may have been served, but healing remains a long and painful journey.

Atan: How N1,500 textbook fee led to defilement, pregnancy, family’s collapse

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