The judge gave the remand order after the Abuja pastor pleaded not guilty to eight counts, including rape, child rape, child abduction, sexual exploitation and abuse.
The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Gwarinpa, Abuja, on Thursday ordered a fresh remand of an Abuja-based pastor over charges of raoing a 14-year-old girl.
According to the judge, Mr Isah’s legal team must now present documentation of the bail previously granted to him by the FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja.
The judge gave the order after Mr Isah, who was released from an initial remand in August last year, pleaded not guilty again to eight counts of child rape and related offences, including child abduction, sexual exploitation and abuse.
In June 2025, the police arrested Mr Isah, then, arraigned him on right charges on 22 July 2025 before the FCT High Court in Abuja.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges of rape, abduction of a child, indecency and violence.
The case went dormant after the arraignment.
On 11 March, the case was reassigned from the FCT High Court in Maitama to a new trial judge, Modupe Osho-Adebiyi, in the Gwarinpa division of the court, following an application from the prosecution lawyer, Aderonke Imana.
On 21 April, the matter came up before Ms Osho-Adebiyi. However, the defendant did not appear in court.
The judge fixed today (Thursday) for the re-arraignment of Mr Isah.
After Mr Isah entered his plea, defence lawyer, O.U Sule, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), informed the court of the bail previously granted.
However, the judge noted that the record of the bail and sureties was not before the court.
“His record of surety is not before the court; if I tell him to go, who am I releasing him to go?” The judge asked Mr Sule.
He persisted in his request that the defendant be released on his honour, but the judge declined.
“Until I get the record, there is really not much I can do. You have not applied for bail before me,” the judge said.
Mr Sule then asked for an oral bail application, but Ms Imana, the prosecution lawyer , opposed the request, while informing the court of other proceedings at another court.
“I am opposed to the oral application, I am before another court,” she said.
The judge noted that the sureties guaranteeing the previous bail were not in court and their documents were not before the court.
The judge then said, “The defendant is hereby remanded to the correctional centre pending bail.”
She asked Mr Isah’s lawyer to inform the court registrar when the team is ready with the necessary documents.
The court adjourned proceedings until 30 June to commence the trial.
In August 2025, PREMIUM TIMES reported how the pastor resumed ministrations after securing bail for his release from custody on health grounds.
Mr Isah shared the video clip on social media showing him leading an ecstatic congregation.
The video was shared after the former trial judge, Enobie Obanor, granted him bail based on his claim of suffering from “pulmonary tuberculosis,” which he claimed “has progressively deteriorated into a severe form of obstructive airway disease.”
Mr Isah stated that he contracted the ailment during his detention.
On 18 June 2025, the police arrested the cleric for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl, who is a member of the media unit of his church.
In an interview with PREMIUM TIMES at a hospital where she went to see a doctor regarding post-assault conditions on 30 June last year, the teenager, whose name is withheld over stigmatisation concerns and her underage status, said she was raped on 26 May 2025 but kept mum out of fear.
She said Mr Isah had invited her to his office, where the incident allegedly took place.
She recounted her experience to her friend, who encouraged her to disclose the matter to her parents.
After telling her parents, her father reported the issue to the police.
