By Etebong Akpan
At the tail end of a narrow alley in Idua Road , Eket hemmed in by zinc fences and oil-stained walls, stands a one-room apartment that now reeks of secrets, shame, and shattered trust. The room once held two women, six children, and a man of God. But behind the clatter of pots and whispered midnight prayers, a child was being destroyed—quietly, repeatedly, and ruthlessly.
Her name is Destiny Ekpeyong Uko, a 17-year-old girl from Oruku Ibighi in Urue Offong/Oruko Local Government Area, and she was sexually abused for four years by her guardian, a married pastor named Apostle Jephthah Stephen Asuquo of Divine Mountain of Joy Ministry, Ukpong Street, off Eket Oron road, Eket ; the very man entrusted with her care. She was only 13 years old when the abuse began.
Today, Apostle Asuquo sits in police custody at the Area Command in Eket , awaiting arraignment for rape and sexual exploitation. But Destiny and her mother, Esther Etukudoh Ukpong , a freelance hair stylist from Idua village in Eket local government area , are not celebrating. They are homeless. They are poor. They are emotionally scarred. And they are crying out; not just for justice but for help.
This is not just a story of abuse. It is a story of poverty, power, and silence. A story that demands urgent public attention
From Refuge to Ruin
Destiny’s life took a dark turn in 2016, when her father walked out on the family under the guise of “seeking greener pastures” in Lagos. He never returned till date though he sends money occasionally for her education. Stranded and penniless, her mother accepted shelter from a longtime acquaintance: Apostle Jephthah Asuquo whom the mother said was introduced to her by her late sister
Asuquo, a firebrand preacher with a growing street fellowship and a reputation for charity, offered them space in his home. His wife and five children already shared a small, cramped apartment. But in poverty, even tight spaces seem generous. What followed was a slow descent into hell.
“At first, I thought we had found help,” Destiny’s mother; Esther said during an interview with The Pioneer. “But I never know we had walked into a trap.”
“ We sleep in the same room which has one mattress which the wife shares with his five children. Myslf, the pastor and Destiny sleeps on the floor and it is in this tight space that he has been having canal knowledge of my daughter almost on a daily basis or the past four years. She lamented
At night, while the house slept, Pastor Asuquo would rise like a thief and take what was not his. Destiny; the girl he called his ‘daughter.’ as is usual with the Nigerian Pentecostal setting disclosed that she started to attend the pastor’s church in 2017 with her late aunty and was later forced by the said aunty to go and stay with the pastor in 2019 in her Junior secondary two, JSSII .
“ He started to sleep with me in 2020 in my JSS3 when I turned thirteen (13)
“When it started, I pleaded with him not to do it because he is like a father to me
“When my mother confronted him with the allegation he slapped and beat up my mother calling her an ingrate
“He threatened me that if I ever told anyone, I would die,” Destiny said quietly, staring into her palms. “He said God would punish me.”
“Apart from the threat of eternal damnation, he also vowed to send us out of his house and since we had nowhere to go , we kept quite .”
The abuse went on for years.
A Mother’s Grief, A Daughter’s Silence
Destiny’s mother; Esther only found out about the abuse in 2022—nearly two years after it started. “I noticed she was withdrawn, afraid, and always falling ill,” she said. “One day she broke down crying and told me everything.”
Fury boiled in Esther’s chest. She confronted the pastor. The response was swift and brutal. He beat her up, labeling her and ingrate and an interloper adding that what happens between him and Destiny was not her business.
“He said I was trying to destroy his ministry,” she said. “He said he had been feeding us, so I had no right to accuse him.”
But what could she do? They had no house of their own. No job. No relations willing to take them in. She was caught between abandonment and abuse, and for a long time, she chose survival. Even the church members according to her took side with the pastor as he has poisoned their minds about Destiny; most times alleging that She was naughty and needs to be tamed
The Turning Point
What ultimately blew the lid off the pastor’s secret was not repentance or confession; it was jealousy.
it happened that after graduation , Destiny secured a job as a shop attendance in a nearby street. The job gave her a little freedom and like a bird let out of a cage for the first time she started began a harmless relationship with a younger man, ; Timothy Ibia . The Pastor couldn’t stand sharing his prized treasure with another man and in the guise of disciplinarian and a strict guardian called the police on Ibia and accused him of having unlawful canal knowledge of a minor. He did not only made himself the jury and the judge in the matter but also demanded a whopping ₦200,000 from Ibia before he can allow the police to release him.
“He said the man had stolen my future,” Destiny recounted. “But it was him who had stolen everything.” She sobbed
It was in the police station surrounded by strangers, legal documents, and silence that Destiny and her mother told the truth after being tired with the hypocrisy and the recalcitrant behavior of the self styled Apostle . They let the cat out of the bag. They told everything to even the consternation of the police and other strangers who were at the police station at that material time. The unfolding drama was more than an epic meant for Nolloywood , the pastor confessed to the crime and pleaded with the police to save his ministry and source of livelihood.
The hardest part was when Destiny revealed that after the arrest of Timothy Ibia , the pastor raped him consecutively thrice as a punishment for having the guts to go and sleep with another man without his permission .
The Predator Falls
Apostle Japthah Asuquo , who had reported another person for child abuse, was now exposed as the true predator and a pedophile . The Nigeria Police, Eket Area Command, arrested him on the spot. As at the time of filling this report , Apostle Asuquo remains in detention awaiting formal arraignment in court today in Eket alongside his accomplice ; Timothy Ibia .
According to sources close to the investigation, the case file includes multiple counts of sexual assault, unlawful carnal knowledge of a minor, threats, and physical abuse.
One officer said, “The complainant has turned accused. His arrogance led him to the gallows.”
Nowhere To Go
Justice may be crawling toward the courtroom, but Destiny and her mother are still victims of their circumstance.
“We are sleeping on someone’s floor now,” Esther says. “We have nothing. No home. No food. No safety.”
The duo are now tenants of Destiny’s new mistress where she doubles as a sales girl and a care giver for the kids
Destiny who has just completed her secondary school education is hopeful that she could continue her education after the nightmare that is haunting her. She wants to return to school. She wants to study medicine one day. But for now, even transport fare to the police station is a struggle.
Surprisingly, though she admitted that she communicates with his estranged father, she and the mother have not reported their travails in the hand of Apostle Asuquo to him.
When queried by this reporter why they have not done so, they said the man would not believe that as according to them, his believe is that they are still staying in their maternal family compound in Idua Eket.
A Public Cry for Help
This report is more than a chronicle of criminality. It is a call to conscience.
The people of Akwa Ibom—its government, its churches, its NGOs—must respond. Destiny and her mother ; Esther need more than headlines. They need housing, healthcare, education, therapy, and protection. And most importantly, they need dignity.
Beyond Destiny : A Pattern of Silence
Destiny’s case is not isolated. Across Nigeria, thousands of girls live in similar conditions caught in abusive homes, silenced by threats, and ignored by society. Many are under the care of uncles, pastors, neighbors, or stepfathers who exploit their poverty and vulnerability.
“If a man of God can get away with this for four years in a one-room apartment, imagine what’s happening behind high walls,” said Mrs. Imaobong Ufot, a women’s rights advocate based in Uyo.
Experts are calling for community education, stronger GBV task forces, and the creation of safe shelters for abused children.
What Destiny Needs Now
- Immediate housing support for Destiny and her mother
- Full medical and psychological counseling
- Return to school, with scholarship assistance
- Vocational empowerment for her mother, Esther
- Community protection from further stigmatization or retaliation
- Public monitoring of the legal proceedings against Apostle Asuquo
Conclusion: A Destiny Still Worth Fighting For
In Destiny’s words: “I just want to be safe, I want to go back to school. I want my life back.”
She is not asking for luxury. She is asking for the bare minimum every child deserves: peace, protection, and a future.
Her name is Destiny. And though the world tried to rewrite her story in pain, this may yet be the chapter where she finds her strength and where a society wakes up to the cries it can no longer ignore.
Repeated calls to the police public relations officer in the state, DSP Timfon John yielded no responses as she did not return her calls but information at our disposal is that the state police command is aware of the development and has subscribed to the legal route solve the matter.
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