- by Met
Chizemdere Ezuma, a self-acclaimed reverend arrested for sodomising and infecting a 16-year-old boy, Shedrack, with human immunodeficiency virus has created a scene in police custody.
Ezuma reportedly made overtures at a male suspect with whom he was kept in a cell at the Lagos State Police Command headquarters in Ikeja and attempted to molest him.
City Round learnt that the suspect, whom Ezuma wanted to sodomise last Saturday night, raised the alarm and threatened to beat him up.
One of the policemen on duty was said to have relocated Ezuma to another cell and kept an eye on him till the next morning.
“All the policemen on duty that night were amazed when the suspect complained that the pastor wanted to molest him.
“The suspect said the pastor was romancing his legs and when he was awake, the pastor gestured for him to come close,” a police source told our correspondent.
The source stated that Ezuma, the founder of ‘Jesus Intervention Household Ministry,’ did not deny the allegation when a policeman confronted him.
“He was taken to another cell that night and was kept under watch. He had been arraigned for sexual harassment.
“A boy (Shedrack) whom he was sleeping with was also charged with prostitution. The boy confessed to have slept with a lot of men in exchange for money.
“He was remanded in a correctional home while Ezuma was remanded in prison custody,” the source added.
However, the spokesperson for the police in the state, DSP Bala Elkana, denied that the scenario played out.
Ezuma was tracked down on March 21, 2019, at his rented apartment on Adelaja Ojo Street in the Ikotun-Egbe area of Lagos three months after he went into hiding.
The reverend, who is said to be a member of a gay syndicate, had been declared wanted following the arrest of one Prince Chinecherem for defiling a minor.
Elkana had in a statement stated that Ezuma brought in about 15 boys into his apartment and forcefully penetrated them through the anus.
“On further interrogation, the ‘reverend’ revealed that he is HIV positive and had been receiving treatment for over three years.
“One Shedrack, 16, was part of his customers and was infected with HIV around October 2018. He further confessed that he pays the boys N2000 each anytime he had carnal knowledge of them,” the statement added.
Meanwhile, neighbours of the pastor expressed shock over the incident when our correspondent visited the area on Wednesday.
A resident, who identified herself simply as Josephine, said she knew Ezuma to be an easy-going man, adding that she did not initially believe he committed the alleged crime.
She said, “I was not around when he was arrested. I learnt he was sleeping with young boys. I can’t imagine he could engage himself in such an obnoxious act.
“In fact, many people were surprised because he was an easy-going man. We always greeted each other. I learnt he had a church but it is not on this street. I don’t know where it is located.”
Ezuma’s next-door neighbour, who did not disclose her name to City Round, said she did not suspect the man was into the unlawful act until his arrest.
“In this house, every tenant is on their own. As you can see, it is a family to their flat. The only thing I knew about him is that he is called pastor and lived alone.
“We don’t talk to each other. I was also surprised like everyone else when the police came here to arrest him. They said he was sleeping with boys,” the woman said