An Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence court on Friday, January 26, 2024, sentenced the founder of iReign Christian Ministry, Feyi Daniels, to life imprisonment for “raping a church member”.

The trial judge, Rahman Oshodi, found the Lagos-based cleric guilty of rape and sexual assault of a female worshipper.

The judge also sentenced Daniels, the Bishop of I Reign Christian Ministry, Lagos, to three years in prison for sexually assaulting a 19-year-old member of the church (count three of the four-count charge).

The judge held that the cleric should spend the rest of his life at the Kirikiri custodial facility in Lagos.

Oshodi held that the prosecution established the ingredients of the two offences. According to him, Feyi Daniels is a liar and does not have any regard for truly.

During the buildup of the last general election, Pastor Feyi trended on social media after he claimed that he saw events that would unfold after the 2023 presidential election including how Bola Tinubu would be falsely announced winner, how Peter Obi would cry and challenge the results, and how Vice President Yemi Osinbajo would be announced interim President.

Daniels on February 19, 2023,  while speaking to members of his church claimed that the elections will be peaceful and that Atiku Abubakar will not win the 2023 presidential polls.

In a detailed explanation of what he saw spiritually, he claimed that Tinubu will be arrested by the military on the day of his swearing-in and subsequently removed as the next president.

He also suggested to sound like a fairy tale, Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate will succeed Osinbajo as the substantive president following a court ruling.

Before Friday’s life imprisonment verdict, Daniels was said to have raped an assistant female pastor at his house in the Lekki area of Lagos State.

The victim (name withheld) was based in Ilorin, the Kwara State capital, but was summoned to the Lagos headquarters of the church where the incident happened. According to her, Daniels punished her for not attending a meeting by ordering her to his house in Lekki for punishment, and when she got there, he ordered that she put off her clothes because he wanted to beat her.

Recounting her rape experience, she said, “The following day, we were in the sitting room listening to a pastor’s message when he said I should go naked again. I did, and surprisingly, he also went naked and raped me for about 30 minutes till I started bleeding because of the tears I sustained despite not being a virgin.”

The victim reported the case in 2022 at the FCID Alagbon, Lagos, leading to the arrest of pastor Daniels.

On March 2023, the Lagos State Directorate of Public Prosecutions, Ministry of Justice, ordered the arraignment of Daniels for the alleged rape of an assistant pastor of the church and another lady.

The Director of the DSVRT, Lola Vivour-Adeniyi, said the agency was waiting for the case to be assigned to the right court. She noted that three ladies were involved in the matter, adding that while two reported to the agency, the third lady reported to the police.

Following the complaint of the victim, Daniels was arrested and detained for six days before he was eventually released.

In April 2023, Daniels was meant to show up in the Ikeja Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court but failed to show up, and when the lead investigator showed up in his residence, he had relocated without notice.

On October 21, 2023, Daniels took to the witness box in his own defence and testified that he believed that three out of the four women who accused him of sexually assaulting them conspired to turn against him.

While answering questions under cross-examination, the prosecution’s lead counsel, Babajide Boye, sought to establish that the defendant, Bishop Daniels, had a ‘personal relationship’ with the four women.

Daniels was sentenced to life imprisonment for “raping a church member” on Friday, January 26, 2024. He also bagged 3 years in prison for sexually assaulting another church member.

He is married to his heartthrob, Pastor Awele Feyi-Daniels and their marriage is blessed with two boys.

He started Gnosis Business School which is presently known as Evolve Business School in 2006. And in the year 2019, he founded the Kings Academy.

According to him, he consulted with many international corporations such as Chevron, Intercontinental Bank, Skye Bank, and Edo State Government, Edo Nigeria.

Daniel is the founder of IReign Christian Ministry, and the ministry has centers across the globe.

He is also a philanthropist and runs a foundation, the BFD Foundation, where he partners with educational organizations to provide access to quality education and celebrate academic excellence among the younger generation.