A 45-year-old man has been arrested by the police for allegedly raping a 14-year-old girl.
The Nation learnt that the victim was also defiled about two years ago by another man, who impregnated her.
The latest rape was said to have occurred on Wednesday at a hotel in Ekeki, Yenagoa, the Bayelsa State capital.
The victim said the man lured her with an employment offer at the Ministry of Women Affairs.
She said: “On Wednesday, I was at home. The man, a friend to our neighbour, came to my house and told my mother that he wanted to take me to the Ministry of Women Affairs. He said the government was empowering minors who have given birth. So, my mother asked me to go with him.
“We stopped at a bank and he withdrew money. We headed for the ministry. When we got to there, he went inside and came back later to inform me that they asked us to come back by 10am the following day. As we were going back, he said I should wait. I checked my bag to take money so that I could board a commercial tricycle home. Unfortunately, I could not find the fare my mother gave.
“The man asked me to wait. That he would take me home. He stopped a tricycle operator and discussed with him. I did not know what they discussed. The operator carried us and drove past our area. I drew his attention to it and he said somebody called him and that he was going to see the person. He said I should not bother because he would bring me back home.
“The tricycle operator took us to a hotel at Ekeki, behind Christ Apostolic Church. My baby and I stood outside the hotel. The man beckoned to me to come inside. I told him I wanted to go home, but he insisted I should come. When I refused to go inside, he came to me, pushed me inside the room and locked the door.
“I shouted, but nobody heard me. I later learnt that the manager of the hotel had gone to buy petrol. I screamed, but the man forcefully took my baby from me and threw her on the floor. Thereafter, he pounced on me and raped me.”
The teenager said she had bruises and blood stains in her private part.
She said in pains, she carried her baby and went to Ekeki Police Station to lodge a complaint.
“The police followed me to the hotel and confronted the manager, who told them that the man came earlier to book an accommodation that he and his wife and daughter would lodge till the next day.
“The manager said that was why he went to buy fuel before we came that would last till the following day.
“The police gave the manager their number and told him to alert them whenever the man came to the hotel so that they would arrest him. They kept me at their station until about 7pm.
“I did not have any money, so I trekked from Ekeki. I met my cousins on the way, who helped me to carry my baby. I narrated what happened to them.
“When I got home, I told my mother what happened. Later policemen came to look for the man in our area. Thereafter, the manager alerted the police and they arrested the man at the hotel.”
The victim’s mother said the man capitalised on her daughter’s predicament to rape her.
A 16-year-old girl, Chinelo Obadike, has accused a policeman attached to the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) of abducting, raping and impregnating her.
Obadike was allegedly abducted last May 8 on her way to her sister’s place in Ojo, a Lagos suburb.
It was gathered that the policeman, identified as Henry, who was at the time serving at Ojo Division, saw the girl on the road holding a piece of paper and forcefully took her to a hotel.
Chinelo said: “I was going to my sister’s place. She sells food at Ojo. That was when Officer Henry saw me and forced me on his motorcycle. He took me to a hotel and raped me at gun point. After that, he took me to his house and told his wife that he has brought a housemaid that would be looking after their children.
“While I was at their house, he would rape me every night when he came back from work. I was at their house for about 18 days. It was during one of the nights he came to sleep with me that his phone and N10,000 fell from his pocket. I picked them and when they had gone out the next day, I fled to the village.”
Chinelo was delivered of a baby five months ago.
Angered by her disappearance, the policeman was said to have gone to FSARS in Ikeja and reported that the girl stole N1.5million belonging to his wife, jewellery and other valuables. It was gathered that a case of robbery was opened against the girl, prompting FSARS operatives to track her to her village in Anambra State.
It was gathered that Chinelo had sold the policeman’s phone while fleeing, which the police tracked to a man identified as Ekwe, who led detectives to the victim’s sisters in Lagos.
The founder, Crime Victims Foundation, Mrs. Gloria Egbuji, was notified of the matter by the victim’s family after she was allegedly detained, tortured in FSARS despite being underage and pregnant.
Mrs. Egbuji, it was learnt, intervened and the parties were invited for a meeting, where operatives of FSARS discovered there was a case of abduction and rape.
Egbuji confirmed to our correspondent that Miss Obadike was released after she got in touch with the officer in charge of FSARS, Mohammed Sanusi, a Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP).
According to the victim’s elder sister, Chukwudumaga Obadike, Chinelo admitted before the police that she stole N10,000 and the officer’s phone when it fell from him while he was raping her.
She said Henry withdrew the case of N1.5million theft when he realised that the truth had been exposed but denied being responsible for her pregnancy.
Obadike said: “This thing happened on May 8, last year. I discovered that my sister was missing and we reported her missing at the Ajangbadi Police Station in Ojo.
“We did not know what happened until July 10 when I was arrested by policemen from Ojo Division, where officer Henry was serving. They said my sister, who I had reported missing, was wanted by the police for N1.5million theft from a policeman.
“I told them that we were looking for her and had declared her missing.The policemen went to Ajangbadi Police Station with me to ascertain if truly I reported her missing.They wanted to lock me up but I refused. They later released me by 11pm and the policemen told us to report at the station the next day.
“When I and another sister of mine called Ada went to Ojo Police Station the next day, the policemen took us to FSARS office at Ikeja. Ada and I were detained there and were asked to pay N10,000 bail each but we ended up giving them N5,000. They released us and told us to go and look for our missing sister and bring her to FSARS Ikeja.
“They tracked her to the village and brought her to Lagos. She confessed to us that she did not steal N1.5million from officer Henry’s house that it was a frameup. She was detained in FSARS cell forone week with the help of officer Henry’s brother, who worked there. The policemen did not give her food. They tortured and forced her to confess to stealing Henry’s N1.5million.”
The Nation gathered that at the meeting in FSARS, money was demanded from the policeman for the expectant girl’s upkeep and he committed to N50,000.
But along the line, Henry, it was gathered denied paying the money and said he could only raise N20,000 because his son was epileptic and had a crisis. The policeman, it was gathered, also denied paying the money for fear that it could be used as evidence against him.
Our correspondent contacted Police Commissioner Imohimi Edgal, who immediately sent for CSP Sanusi, the officers in charge of Gender and XSquad units, directing a thorough investigation into the case. He also directed that the case file be transferred to the gender unit.
CSP Sanusi said: “I do not allow underage persons to be detained in FSARS cell under my watch. Maybe they were doing that before I came but since I came here, no underage person has been detained.”
He directed our correspondent to the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), Okhide, who denied allegations of torture, starvation and maltreatment. The IPO said the teenager had marks of burns on her body, which she claimed was inflicted on her by her sister. He also said allegations of rape were made against the officer but he did not investigate it since it was not within his jurisdiction.
IMPREGNATED in Ondo, abandoned in Enugu. That is the summary of the pathetic story of 14-year-old Chinecherem Chinze, an indigene of Enugu State allegedly abused sexually by a couple in Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State, where she was taken to work as a housemaid.
It was gathered that the young girl was preparing to write the Junior Secondary School Certificate Examination last year but the noble plan was frustrated by the inability of her widowed mother to raise the examination fee.
With four other children to cater for since her husband died two years ago, the poor widow, Christiana Chinze, readily yielded to a suggestion by her neighbour and sister to the wife of auto parts dealer based in Ikare-Akoko, Ondo State, that Chinecherem be sent to the couple to serve as a housemaid while they put her in school and take care of her education.
The auto parts dealer, Ene Chidozie, who allegedly turned round to impregnate Chinecherem, is said to be a native of Abia town in Udi Local Government Area, Enugu State.
Chidozie
The young Chinecherem was an embodiment of sadness when our correspondent spoke with her at her base in Enugu, where she had been abandoned with her mother since December last year after her mother confronted Chidozie with the allegation that he put the hapless young girl in the family way.
Repeatedly fighting back tears with the back of her hand as she narrated the events that culminated in her ordeal, Chinecherem said: “I was taken to Ikare in March last year to live with Uncle Chidozie and his wife in the hope that they would register me in a school to take the JSS (Junior Secondary School) exam. But he deflowered me and also slept with me many times after that. He is responsible for my seven- month-old pregnancy.”
Giving further insight, Chinecherem said when she arrived Ikare in March last year, Chidozie’s wife, who she said was pregnant at the time, told her that she was brought to the house for a purpose that would be revealed to her at the appropriate time. Chinecherem said she interpreted that in her mind to mean that she would later be enrolled in school. She was wrong.
A few months later, Chidozie’s wife put to bed via Cesarean Section and the time came to unveil Chinecherem’s mission in the house.
She said: “One day in August last year, she told me that the time for the purpose of my coming to Ikare had come. She asked me to enter her husband’s room. I entered the room but, surprisingly, I met him lying naked on his bed. He beckoned to me to come but I refused. I started begging him, telling him that I had not done such a thing before.
“Suddenly, Aunty (Chidozie’s wife) came into the room and pushed me towards her husband. She then held me down while her husband mounted and deflowered me. I cried throughout that day.
“Thereafter, he continued to sleep with me. Whenever I refused to go to bed with him, Aunty would phone her sister in our village and tell her that I was not heeding her instructions.
“Each time Uncle wanted to sleep with me, his wife would help him to hold me down. That continued until December when we came home for Christmas and they returned me to my mother.”
Chinecherem said before they returned to the village for Christmas, she told the couple that she had missed her period, but they simply dismissed her claim. To her surprise, she said, the couple left her behind in Enugu State when they were returning to Ikare after the yuletide without any explanation to her or her widowed mother.
She said it was when her mother started noticing some physical changes in her that she confronted her and took her for a test which showed that she was six months pregnant.
“That was when I told my family the whole story. Uncle Chidozie’s family was contacted but he denied ever touching me when they confronted him. After much pressure, another test was conducted and he admitted.”
The victim’s mother told one of our correspondents that Chidozie had agreed to take responsibility for the baby’s upkeep with a payoff of N100, 000, but the other women in the community kicked against the arrangement, saying that the said amount was too small. On the basis of their protest, she said, Chidozie agreed to take responsibility for Chinecherem’s upkeep during the pregnancy and after she had put to bed.
It was gathered, however, that Chidozie had only sent N20, 000 to Chinecherem so far. Asked if she would agree to being taken as a second wife, the 14-year-old girl responded with an emphatic no.
“All I want from him is to take care of the baby and my education. That is the only way I can secure my future, which is about to be ruined. I am interested more in education than marriage. I am only 14 years old and now in SS1,” she said.
Chinecherem’s mother, Christiana, who hails from Aguoba Umumba, Ezeagu Local Government Area, Enugu State, said her daughter cherishes her education a lot, which was why she agreed to being sent to the couple for help when her neigbour suggested it.
Speaking amid tears, she said: “This case is beyond me. I don’t know what to say. All I want is that the man takes care of my daughter and her pregnancy. He should take care of her education, because it was on that basis that she agreed to be sent to Ikare.”
The widow also called on non-governmental organisations (NGOs), the wife of the Enugu State governor, Mrs. Monica Ugwuanyi, and the Deputy Governor of Enugu State, Mrs. Cecelia Ezeilo, to intervene in the matter and help save her daughter’s future.
Contacted for comments at his business base in Idi-Mango, Ikare-Akoko after painstaking efforts to locate him at his Ugbe-Akoko residence had failed, Chidozie, admitted putting his house girl in family way. This was after he had taken our correspondent to a nearby church where he confessed to the sin.
He, however, would not go into the details, saying that “both families have resolved the matter amicably.”
He said that both his family and that of the pregnant 14-year-old girl had discussed extensively, and the latter had said they would call him any time his attention was needed.
Dozie said: “Both families have come together to settle the issue. Since we are far away, they agreed to contact me any time they need my attention. Both myself and the lady’s family members are from Enugu State.”
He also said that Chinecherem had returned to her parents in Enugu State.
Asked if it was true that he had only paid N20,000 out of the N100,000 he promised to pay the parents of the lady to take care of her, he insisted that the issue had been settled and nothing more.
A man who identified himself simply as CY and Chinecherem’s uncle also told our correspondent on the telephone that the matter had been settled between the two families. He, however, said that Chidozie was in a better position to give details of what transpired between him and the young girl.
Eze’s wife was not available for comments when our correspondent visited. But the husband said she was not involved in the incident.
Chinecherem’s predicament has however been condemned by gender and human rights activists who have vowed to monitor the development to prevent the case from being swept under the carpet.
A gender activist and Executive Director of Centre for Children’s Health, Education, Orientation and Protection (CEE-HOPE), Betty Abah said: “It is quite appalling how families treat house-helps across Nigeria. This case is just one of the probably thousands of cases. I am aware that sexual violence is very rampant with regards to house helps and their Madams’ husbands, sons or males figures in houses where they work. We actually had a case last year where the girl, brought in from Benue, had been impregnated after she had been sexually abused in about three of the four she worked last year. By the time we met her and stepped in towards her rehabilitation and involved NAPTIP, she was about six months pregnant, stranded at the Iddo Motor Park in Lagos and had no idea whom in particular she was pregnant for.
“Our law enforcement agencies really need to step uptheir games and ensure thorough punishment for this kind of case. This is sexual assault, this is sex with a minor and also threat, which are all punishable by law. The wicked Madam and her randy husband must be told that there is a limit to impunity and that they can’t just treat anyone one, house helps or night in such dehumanizing way. We will be watching to see what becomes of this case.”
A 47-year-old man, Magaji Mohammed, who allegedly impregnated his sister in-law by raping her, was on Monday brought before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court.
The accused, a driver who resides at 18, Atobaje St., Agege, a suburb of Lagos, is facing a two-count charge bordering on rape.
The prosecutor, Insp. Clifford Ogu, told the court that the accused committed the offence on November 2016 and Feb. 28, 2017 at the accused residence.
Ogu said that the accused raped his 16-year-old sister -in-law, impregnated her and gave her a harmful drug to use with the intention to abort it.
“The accused raped the girl when his wife traveled out of town. And when the girl discovered that she missed her period, she told the accused.
“The accused gave the girl a herbal concoction which made the girl to abort the pregnancy,” he said.
The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Sections 147 and 259 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The accused, however, entered a “not guilty” plea.
The chief magistrate, Mrs Taiwo Akanni, granted the accused bail of N500,000 with two sureties in like sum.
Akanni adjourned the case until April 12 for mention.
A 50-year-old teacher, Mr Musiliu Yusuf, yesterday told an Igando Customary Court in Lagos that his wife was impregnated by one of her lovers in their matrimonial home.
“My wife committed adultery, she got pregnant for one of her lovers in our matrimonial home,” Yusuf said while testifying in a divorce suit instituted by his wife, Hassana.
“My wife is promiscuous; my fellow landlords are her boyfriends. She got pregnant for one of them, they mock and make jest of me whenever they see me.
“I stopped making love to her in June 2014 due to her infidelity and in 2015 she told me she was pregnant.
“I rejected the pregnancy and even after delivery of the baby, I refused to care for her because the baby is not mine,” the estranged husband said.
The respondent tendered the list of hotels visited by his wife and some of her lover as exhibits.
“I packed out from the house I built on four different occasions because I fear for my life as my wife always beat me on any slight provocation.
“I finally ran out on June 14, 2015 and refused to go back just to save my life because I don’t want to die,” he said.
Musiliu said that contrary to his wife’s testimony that they both built the house and school, he never collected any money from her.
The respondent also presented as exhibits all the title documents of the properties which were in his name.
Hassana, 39, a teacher, who filed the suit to end her 13-year-old marriage, said that her husband threatened to kill her in order to inherit what they both acquired.
“He threatened to kill me so that he can take over what we both laboured for. He always boasts that nobody will question him if he kills me.
“We jointly bought a coaster bus and two plots of land. We used a plot to build a house, the other a school,” she said.
The petitioner said that her husband was in the habit of accusing her of infidelity.
“My husband is suspicious of my moves; every man I talk to is my boyfriend. He has no trust, whatsoever in me,” the estranged wife said.
Hassana said that her husband packed out of their home without any notice to an unknown destination.
“On many occasions, he had abandoned me and the children. He once left the house for a year,” she said.
The mother of four said that because she refused to grant her husband loan, he rejected her fourth child from pregnancy.
Delivering his judgment, the President of the court, Mr Adegboyega Omilola, said that it appeared that the estranged couple were tired of the marriage and all efforts to reconcile both parties had failed.
“Since both parties consented to the dissolution of their marriage, this court has no choice than to dissolve the marriage.
“The court pronounces the marriage between Hassana Yusuf and Musiliu Yusuf dissolved today; both parties henceforth cease to be husband and wife.
“Both are free to go their separate ways without any hindrances and molestation,” Omilola ruled.
An Ikeja Magistrates’ Court, on Tuesday ordered the remand of a 45-year-old driver, Ganiyu Afolabi, for allegedly impregnating a 16-year-old girl.
The Chief Magistrate, Mr Tajudeen Elias, ordered that the accused should be held in prison custody until Sept. 9, when the court would deliver its ruling on his bail application.
The prosecutor, Sgt. Jimah Iseghede, told the court that the accused, who lives at 9, Ayinde Close, Meiran, a suburb of Lagos State, is facing a three- count charge of sexual assault, defilement and attempt to procure abortion.
Iseghede said that the alleged offences were committed sometime in May 2015 at the accused residence.
Iseghede alleged that the accused had called the 16-year-old victim to his room under the pretext of sending her on an errand and defiled her.
“And when the victim told the accused that she had missed her monthly flow, he procured a drug for her to use but the girl told her mother and the accused was apprehended,” the prosecutor said.
He said the offences contravened Sections 137, 145 and 259 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
A 25-year-old man, Shamsu Isa, has told a Kano Senior Magistrate’s Court 25 sitting in Nomans-Land, that he “mistakenly” impregnated his 27-year-old sister.
According to the first information report, on July 4, the ward head of Takalmawa quarters reported to the police that Shamsu Isa was having an incestuous relationship with his elder sister.
The prosecution told the court that Naima Isa was pregnant, adding that she had a feeble mind.
The accused told the court that the allegation was true, adding that “all that has been read against me is true; it was a mistake. I mistakenly impregnated her; she is my elder sister”.
The prosecutor, Corporal Ibrahim Abdulrazak, applied that the matter be adjourned to enable the police conclude their investigation.
Senior Magistrate Ummi Sani Kurawa ordered that Isa be remanded in prison custody and adjourned till August 4.
