The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Gwarinpa, Abuja, has granted fresh bail to an Abuja pastor accused of raping a 14-year-old girl. The court granted the 39-year-old founder and General Overseer of Prophetic Voice of Fire Ministry International in Gwagwalada, Abuja, Amos Isah, bail in the sum of N50 million with two sureties, among other terms and conditions.
Presiding judge, Justice Modupe Osho-Adebiyi, ruled that the sureties must be responsible heads of religious organisations, particularly Pentecostal churches, and must provide tax clearance certificates. Court officials were also ordered to verify their church premises and residences.
The defendant was further directed to submit his international passport to the court. The terms and conditions of the bail imposed by Justice Osho-Adebiyi are stiffer than those attached to a previous bail granted the defendant last year by the former trial judge in the Maitama division of the court.
The judge said the stricter conditions were necessary because the amended charge now contains eight counts, including offences that carry life imprisonment if convicted.
The 39-year-old cleric pleaded not guilty to all eight counts filed against him, including rape under the Child’s Rights Act 2003, sexual exploitation, coercion, emotional and psychological abuse, gross indecency, and abduction of a minor.
The teenage survivor, identified in court documents only as B.Z.J., accused the pastor of luring her into his church’s newly constructed auditorium in Gwagwalada under false pretences on or about May 26, 2025, locking the doors, and forcefully having sexual intercourse with her without her consent.
The police arrested Isah in June 2025 and arraigned him before the FCT High Court in July 2025. He was initially granted bail on health grounds, with his lawyers claiming he suffered from pulmonary tuberculosis. He subsequently resumed church ministrations while on bail.
The conduct of those around the case has also raised serious alarm. Sources familiar with the case told Sahara Reporters that unnamed gatekeepers and influential figures mounted pressure on Justice Osho-Adebiyi’s court to recognise the earlier bail granted by another court, while senior legal figures involved in the defence team were also accused of allegedly attempting to intimidate the judicial process.
More troublingly, sources further alleged that the pastor raped another girl while on bail from his earlier detention, an allegation that has not been formally charged in court but has intensified public concern about the pace and integrity of proceedings.
At the resumed hearing on May 14, 2026, the prosecution lawyer had urged the court not to release the defendant, warning the court that he was a danger to society.
The case has been adjourned to June 30, 2026, for further hearing.
