The founder and General Overseer of Living Christ Mission, Obiajunwa Onukogu, popularly known as Daddy Hezekiah, has been accused of sexually abusing two women when they were minors attending church programmes more than two decades ago.

The allegations were made in separate written testimonies by Kelechi Ibe, 39, and Onyekachi J. Eze, 40, who said they decided to speak publicly about their experiences after years of silence.

The women alleged that the incidents occurred in the 1990s when they were members of the “Princess of Daddy Hezekiah,” a church group for young girls who participated in programmes in Port Harcourt, Onitsha and the church’s headquarters in Nkwerre, Imo State.

According to their accounts, parents often left their children in the care of church officials after the opening days of conventions, with the young girls remaining at the venues until the programmes ended.

Ibe and Eze alleged that they were repeatedly summoned to the cleric’s private quarters under the pretext of checking whether they had remained virgins. They claimed that they were subjected to inappropriate sexual touching while still minors.

The women further alleged that they were warned against disclosing the incidents to their parents or other members of the group, which they said contributed to their decision to remain silent for years.

Ibe said the alleged abuse began when she was about 12 or 13 years old and occurred repeatedly during church conventions. She said she eventually opened up after comparing her experience with that of her sister, who was also a former member of the group.

Eze, on her part, alleged that her experience began during a church visit to Onitsha and continued after she joined the group in Port Harcourt.

The women said they later discovered similarities between their accounts and believed that other former members of the group may have had similar experiences.

They identified several people they said had also come forward, including Nkechi Nwofor, Angela Michael, Sopuruchukwu, Nkiru Arum, Vivian Nmezi and Ihegboro Chibuzo.

The alleged victims said the experiences had lasting emotional effects on them and expressed hope that their testimonies would encourage other survivors to speak out.

As of the time of filing this report, Onukogu and Living Christ Mission had not issued an official response to the allegations.