30th June, 2019
By Ayorinde Oluokun/Abuja
Scores of protesters stormed the Commonwealth of Zion Assembly(COZA) in the posh Guzape district of Abuja on Sunday as Nigerians continued to express outrage against Pastor Biodun Fatoyinba, following the accusation of rape by Busola, wife of popular soul singer, Timi Dakolo.
Here is a blow-by-blow account of what happened in Abuja, on the day we call the day of rape storm:
The protesters who were armed with various placards, asked the clergy man to step down as the presiding pastor of COZA, to allow for independent investigation of the rape.
Some of the protesters also sealed their lips with black tapes to indicate that the issue of rape is not openly discussed in the country.
Tight Security, Hired Protesters 
However, for the protesters, getting near the church was like climbing Mount Everest, as the church deployed hooded security operatives, policemen, soldiers and officials of the Nigeria Civil Defence Corps in an attempt to frustrate and keep them far away from its premises.
The security operatives also cocked their guns in an attempt to scare away the protesters and journalists.
But they gave in to persistence of the journalists as they were eventually contented with using their bodies to form a barricade which ensured that the protesters were kept away some metres from the church premises.
The protesters were contented sitting few metres away from the church with their placards. Even then, a man believed to be an official of the church was seen coordinating a group of hoodlums around the church for what later turned out to be a counter protest. 
The hoodlums emerged with different placards expressing support for the COZA Pastor. Some of the pro-COZA protesters cannot recall the name of the Pastor they were protesting for when challenged by journalists, just as some of them held the placards upside down.
One of the hired protesters later confessed to journalists that they were recruited for the pro- COZA Pastor protest with an offer of N10,000 per person to stage the counter-protest.
Our Demands
The organisers ensured that the protest did not become rowdy despite the incursion of the intruders.
“Based on this allegation that has been levelled against Pastor Fatoyinbo, investigation must be carried out so as to establish whether he is guilty or not. When that investigation is being conducted, we expect that he will be asked to step down from his leadership position. This will ensure that there will not be any form of bias or impartiality in the investigation,” Bukky Shonibare, one of the organisers of the protest which was held under the hashtag #churchtoo movement told journalists.
She added that the protesters also want Christian Association of Nigeria and every other body managing religious affairs in Nigeria to take a stand and speak against human rights abuses, sexual violation going on in churches.
Shonibare asked for an end to threats and intimidation of those who have taken up the campaign to ensure justice for Busola Dakolo and others.
“And then, the fourth thing that we are asking for is that every threat and intimidation against Bukola Dakolo, against #meetoo movement must stop. I personally have come under a lot of threats; people have asked me not to walk on the streets of Abuja, that they will pour acid on me. All those threats must stop. But one thing is clear that we will no longer be silent about incidents of human rights abuses and sexual violence going on in the churches which have gone on for too long. When Ese Walters came out in 2013, nothing was done. Now that Bukola Dakolo has come out, many people are narrating their stories. If nothing is done about it, that will be simply promoting the culture of silence.”
Another leader of the protest, Ayo Oyalowo said though the Pastor has not been found guilty of the allegation of rape by a law court, the fact that other women have come out to accuse him of rape, since Busola Dakolo’s wife went public, means that he must be investigated thoroughly.
Unraveling of A Scandal
Busola had set off the latest scandal involving Fatoyinbo in an interview broadcast last Friday by YNaija channel. The mother of three had narrated how she was raped at 16 as a member of Divine Delight Club at Ilorin, the precursor to Fatoyinbo’s Commonwealth of Zion Assembly at two different times in a week by the pastor
According to her, while the pastor raped her for the first time at her parent’s home in Ilorin, the other incident took place in a secluded area.
“I have kept quiet over the years. I had to come out to say this because another narrative was being said,” she added.
Busola’s husband, Dakolo had early in June in a post on Instagram, accused Fatoyinbo of indulging in rape of church members.
Ese Walter, a former member of COZA church had in 2013 detailed how she had a week-long sexual relationship with the COZA pastor during his visit to London in a blog post. The revelation generated a lot of furore in the media, but later died down and was virtually forgotten until the latest rape allegation surfaced last Friday.
In his first reaction on Friday, Fatoyinbo described the allegation of rape levelled against him by Busola “as a false and baseless claim targeted at destroying his reputation and that of his church”.
“I have never in my life raped anybody even as an unbeliever and I am absolutely innocent of this,” he said in a statement addressed from the ‘Office of the Senior Pastor.’
He also threatened to institute legal action against his accusers.
Fatoyinbo’s wife, Modele also buttressed her husband’s denial of the allegations at the service of the church held as protesters were sitting outside the church last Sunday: “Not even as an unbeliever will my husband rape someone.”
Nigerians Pastors, Experts At Riding Storms
But since last Friday others have come out to narrate sexual harassment encounters involving them or those they are familiar with.
Such encounters led to the exit of the members from the church, according to the narrations.
Fatoyinbo had at the end of service last Sunday announced the cancellation of a seven day event of the church billed to begin on Monday because of the demonstrations.
He said he cancelled the events because he did not want guest ministers invited to be subjected to unnecessary security checks.
This implies that the security cordon witnessed around the church in Abuja last Sunday will continue.
The #ChurchToo and #PastorStepDown protesters have also promised that they will continue their protests at COZA branches in Lagos and Abuja to ensure that Busola and other alleged victims of sexual harassment of Fatoyinbo get justice.
But Nigerian pastors are famous for not only riding such storms, but coming out of them stronger, richer and more ‘blessed.’
For example, another Abuja Pastor, Joshua Iginla of Champions Royal Assembly announced his acquisition of a private jet about two months after he confessed that he had cheated on his wife and impregnated a woman. A video of the private jet was posted on the social media handle of the church after the announcement.
This was why the admonition by the protesters to members of COZA at the close of the church service to hold their Pastor accountable was also apt.