Pastor Omotoso is a Nigerian man known as the leader of the church JDI. He was accused in 63 cases, including rape and trafficking. The number dropped to 32 charges. On 2 April 2025, after 8 years of trial, he was found not guilty of 32 charges of rape and trafficking.
A Background of Pastor Omotoso’s Case.
Pastor Omotoso, a church leader of Jesus Dominion International (JDI), was arrested in April 2017. He was accused of rape and trafficking. Omotoso was arrested with two other ladies whom he worked together with.
It was stated that Omotoso raped these women, whose total number is 63, in different places. He has different branches in Durban, Israel, Dubai, and Nigeria. While traveling, he would let this woman travel with him.
These women were traveling because they would have promised spiritual growth and other stuff. When they reached there, they were sleeping in one room, and Omotoso could call one lady to his hotel room. That’s how they were all raped. He did the same thing to all ladies according to their testimony in court.
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“The complainants were either congregants, employees, or persons selected to take part in the activities of the church when they were recruited under the pretext that they would benefit spiritually or improve the quality of their lives. Omotoso allegedly directly or indirectly, through his co-accused, paid and arranged for the complainants to travel to his hotel, Durban, Israel, or Nigeria,” Tyali said.
Once at the destination, Tyali explained, the complainants were allegedly instructed to switch off their phones and “told not to contact male companions and were to further abide by his instructions.”
“The complainants and other female church members were allegedly kept in one room where they also slept. Omotoso would allegedly select one of the complainants to go to his private bedroom, where he raped or sexually assaulted them,” he added.
Since April 2017, the case has been postponed several times, with Omotoso denied bail at all. Only his co-accused were granted bail.
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Why is Omotoso not guilty in this case?
From the beginning of 2017, the charges were 63 and dropped to 32 charges. This is because some of the witnesses withdrew the charges due to the delay of the case. Imagine 8 years they have been going in and out of the court, so they gave up.
Only 32 charges were left out of 63, but the state failed to prove beyond reasonable doubt that Omotoso is guilty. Despite having a bunch of ladies testifying to the same event, it was not enough evidence that Omotoso did it, according to the judge.
The judge stated that he could have done it, but cross-examination from the state was very poor. It couldn’t prove to the judge that Omotoso raped these women and trafficked them. It’s a sad reality for the victim to see their perpetrator going free.
Also, the fact that these women have a WhatsApp group together made it worse. It made it seem like they were practicing to say what they were saying. Currently Pastor Omotoso is a free man after 8 years in custody.
