Busola Dakolo, who is married to the musician Timi Dakolo, claimed that Pastor Biodun Fatoyinbo had raped her in an exclusive interview with YNaija, a Nigerian news website.

The series of videos went viral on social media, triggering a similar #MeToo movement that was instead dubbed #NotInMyChurch.

Pastor Fatoyinbo, founder and senior pastor of the megachurch Commonwealth of Zion Assembly (COZA) in Abuja, has denied the allegations but said he was taking a “leave of absence from the pulpit” because it was the “right thing to do”. 

Nigerians have since taken to social media to share their own stories of sexual abuse and harassment from church officials and members.

 

 

Since the allegations were made public, many members of the church have supported him using the hashtag #IStandWithBiodunFatoyinbo.

Protests occurred on Sunday at different branches of COZA with people holding placards that read “Thou shall not rape”.

 

 

 

The pastor announced he was stepping aside from church duties via his Instagram page.

 

 

 

He wrote: “The past few days have been sobering for me. I have taken time to pray and seek spiritual counsel from Christian leaders around the world, who feel very concerned about the ongoing reports in the media.”

It is not clear if a police investigation is underway.

 

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More than 34,000 people around the UK signed the Christian charity’s petition.

Rhian Beynon, campaign manager at World Vision UK, said in a statment: “535 million children are living in a country affected by conflict or disaster. In these crises – conflicts, natural disasters, epidemics – children and young people suffer the most while being the least responsible.

“They are particularly vulnerable to violence such as being recruited to child soldiers, sexual abuse, trafficking and hazardous labour. The UK government must step up its investment to keep them safe.

“The 34,628 supporters who have signed our petition care about protecting children around the world. They are sending an important message the Secretary of State for International Development cannot ignore.”

The UK government has already pledged to end all violence against children by 2030. 

However, the charity has argued that their research shows that in 2017, only 2.5 per cent of the Government’s bilateral humanitarian spending went on projects safeguarding children from violence.

World Vision UK’s petition, which was launched as part of the charity’s It Takes A World campaign, has called on DFID to this year commit to increasing this spending to at least 10 per cent of the humanitarian budget.

“Protecting the world’s most vulnerable…

Pastor Zafar Bhatti, 56, was sentenced to life imprisonment for blasphemy, a charge he denies. 

His most recent appeal hearing was reportedly postponed because the presiding judge was due to go on holiday.

A statement from the British Pakistani Christian Association (BPCA) said in a statement sent to Premier: “The case was moving favourably in the direction of Zafar but Justice Raja Shahid Mahmood Abbasi sought a postponement as he would not have time to complete paperwork before existing travel plans. 

“Despite the fervent remonstrations by Advocate Tahir Bashir for a decision to be made to release Pastor Zafar the judge said such a decision could not be made as he was off on holiday and had booked flights.” 

The court has set 12th September 2019 for the new appeal date for Pastor Zafar. 

The pastor founded and led a small NGO called Jesus World Mission to assist the poor.

A local Islamic leader filed a complaint at a police station in Rawalpindi and claimed the pastor had been sent messages from an unregistered number insulting the Muslim Prophet Mohammed and his mother. 

Pastor Bhatti has experienced pressure from Muslim prisoners to convert to Islam and has been beaten several times, the charity has reported.

There are also growing concerns for his health since he has developed diabetes since being imprisoned and experiences heart pain and headaches.

Juliet…

Anne Dobbing and her husband, Peter, created the sanctuary on the Shetland island of Yell, out of second hand and recycled materials.

The Scottish chapel was originally built as a place of personal worship for Mrs Dobbing, whose busy work life left her unable to regularly attend her local church in Lerwick.

Speaking to Premier she said: “When I sit in there and say my prayers, I’m really conscious that it’s just me and God, there is all of this air around me, all of this land and sea and sky.

“I feel very exposed but very close to God in there.”

Anne, who runs a B&B on the island, hopes to use the converted chicken coop to serve and bless the local community by opening the space up for guests to use for personal reflection.

She said: “Some of the people that come and stay here, they come to the peace and quiet, but I sense that some of them maybe not Christian people either, but people that need some spiritual presence in their life, that they would also appreciate a place where they could just be still and quiet, just be peaceful.

“It’s a place that I have made available to anybody really, that stays here.”

A number of images have been placed within the chapel to encourage visitors in their prayer and reflection.

The building recently received a blessing from Father…