Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Federal Capital Territory High Court in Gwarinpa has admitted the founder of Prophetic Voice of Fire Ministry International, Amos Isah, to bail in the sum of N50 million with two sureties, imposing conditions significantly stricter than those attached to a previous bail granted last year, after the pastor pleaded not guilty to an eight‑count charge that includes rape, child abduction, sexual exploitation and abuse. Justice Modupe Osho‑Adebiyi ruled that each surety must be a “responsible head of a religious organisation, particularly a Pentecostal church” and must submit tax clearance certificates, while court officials are to verify their church buildings and residential addresses. The judge also ordered Isah to surrender his international passport to the court and directed that the sureties must not be civil servants, a departure from the earlier bail granted by a different judge in the Maitama division of the court where Isah had been released on N5 million bail with two Grade‑12 civil servant sureties.
The case dates back to June 2025 when police arrested Isah and arraigned him on four charges of rape before Justice Enobie Obanor at the FCT High Court in Maitama. After pleading not guilty, the matter went dormant. On 11 March 2026, following an application by prosecution counsel Aderonke Imana, the case was reassigned from the Maitama division to the Gwarinpa division and placed before Justice Osho‑Adebiyi. The prosecution subsequently amended the charge to eight counts, including rape under the Child’s Rights Act 2003, sexual exploitation, coercion, emotional and psychological abuse, gross indecency, and abduction of a minor, with one of the charges carrying a potential life sentence.
At the re‑arraignment on 14 May 2026, Isah again pleaded not guilty. His lawyer, O.U. Sule (SAN), informed the court that his client had earlier been granted bail by the Maitama division, but Justice Osho‑Adebiyi noted that the records of that bail and the sureties were not before her and that the sureties themselves were not present in court. The judge remanded the pastor in Kuje Correctional Centre and ordered the defence to produce the bail documentation. At the resumed hearing on Tuesday, 26 May 2026, the defence applied for bail, citing health grounds, while the prosecution opposed the application, arguing that no medical evidence had been submitted to show that the correctional facility could not manage the pastor’s condition. After hearing arguments, Justice Osho‑Adebiyi granted the fresh bail but insisted on the stringent conditions, noting that the amended charge now carried a possible life sentence and that she could not take judicial notice of a bail granted by another division without full documentation. The case has been adjourned to 30 June 2026 for the commencement of trial.
Meanwhile, SaharaReporters quoted unnamed sources alleging that the earlier bail granted to Isah in the Maitama division was obtained on the basis of a claim that he was suffering from tuberculosis and needed urgent medical treatment outside custody, but that immediately after his release he continued to conduct church programmes and never presented any medical evidence to the court. The same sources also alleged that Isah raped another minor while on that earlier bail and that the girl is prepared to testify when the trial resumes. Those allegations have not been tested in court, and the pastor denies all the charges.
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