A devout Christian who preached against the devil slit his sons' mouths with a scalpel blade and put safety pins through their tongues and lips as part of a catalogue of abuse, a court heard.
The Nigerian, who moved to Bradford with his family, would also put clothes pegs on their lips and tongues, the jury at Bradford Crown Court was told yesterday.
He would stitch up the wounds with a medical kit and told the two boys, who were aged nine to 10 and seven to eight at the time, he inflicted the injuries because God had his tongue cut off in the Bible.
The jury was told how the 47-year-old father would tie the brothers up with cable in a dark room before putting a lemon in the boys' mouths where the skin had been cut.
One boy was tied to a chair in the living room and a safety pin was put through his tongue and his bottom lip, before he was left for the night with a napkin tied around his eyes.
A search of the family home revealed a video, diary and a booklet entitled, Raising a Godly Child, which contained the quote: "He that spareth his rod, hurteth his son." The mother's diary also referred to the Book of James, which claimed "the tongue is a small part of the body that makes great boasts" and that it is "a restless evil".
The trial continues.
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