The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Incest

  • Court dissolves pastor’s marriage over incest

    An Igando Customary Court, Lagos, yesterday dissolved a 41- year-old marriage between Mrs. Mabel Alli and her husband, Pastor Richard, over incest.

    The President, Mr. Adeniyi Koledoye, said it appeared that the estranged couple were tired of the marriage as efforts to reconcile them failed.

    “Since both parties agreed to the dissolution of the marriage, this court has no choice but to dissolve it.

    “The court hereby pronounces the marriage between Mabel Alli and Pastor Richard dissolved. Both of you henceforth cease to be husband and wife.

    “Each of you should go your separate ways. The court wishes both of you well in your future endeavours,” he said.

    The petitioner, Mabel, had approached the court to end her marriage to Richard, for impregnating her sister and their daughter.

    “My husband sexually molested three of our daughters. After impregnating my sister, he took one of our daughters to hospital to have an abortion.

    “Our 19-year-old daughter also reported to me that he always sneaks into her room to have sex with her and I have caught him in the act.

    “My friends and domestic workers are not spared. I have caught him with them too. He is just a womaniser.” the estranged wife alleged.

    The 63-year-old businesswoman said her husband was fetish and also wanted to use her for money ritual in order to finance his political ambition.

    Mabel alleged that her husband does not take care of the children.

    The mother of four begged the court to terminate the union, saying she was no longer interested in it.

    However, Richard, who denied the allegations, welcomed the divorce suit, saying he too was no longer interested in the marriage.

    The 66-year-old pastor denied sleeping with his wife’s sister, friends, housemaids and daughters.

    He said it was his wife who took their daughter to a doctor for abortion.

    Richard said he never took his wife to any herbalist and had never threatened to kill her.

    The respondent said he went to Kenya to attend prayer conference and not to get power and charms as his wife had alleged

  • Father, brother held for incest

    Father, brother held for incest

    A father, Segun Durojaiye, and his brother, Emmanuel, were yesterday charged with incest at a Yaba Chief Magistrates’ Court, Lagos.

    Segun and Emmanuel were arraigned for allegedly defiling Segun’s 16-year-old daughter for four years.

    The 52-year-old father, who resides at Baba-Benja Street, and 44 year-old Emmanuel, of 10, Durojaiye Street, in Oreyo, Ikorodu, Lagos, are facing a charge of defilement.

    The prosecutor, Ibijoke Akinpelu, an Assistant Superintendent (ASP), told the court that the accused committed the offence between 2014 and 2017 at their home.

    He said the father began sleeping with his daughter in 2014 after she confided about her uncle’s improper show of affection.

    Akinpelu said after the victim’s stepmother died in 2014, she was asked to stay a few weeks with her uncle.

    “The victim broke her silence after she had had a series of abortions and was helplessly losing weight from the trauma.

    “The case was reported at a police station and the accused were immediately arrested,” she said.

    The prosecutor said the offence contravened Section 137 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015 (Revised).

    News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Section 137 prescribes life imprisonment for child rape.

    The accused pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate Oluwatoyin Oghre granted the accused N1 million bail each, with two sureties.

    She said one of the sureties should be a Level 15 officer with a titled document, or a traditional ruler.

    Oghre said the sureties should show evidence of three-year tax payment to the Lagos State Government (LASG).

    She adjourned the case till March 12.

  • Incest: Man on the run after impregnating daughter in Warri

    Incest: Man on the run after impregnating daughter in Warri

    One Lucky Akuna, a man in his mid-40s, is now on the run, along with one of his unnamed sons, for allegedly sleeping with one of his daughters; 14-year old Elizabeth Akuna, and getting her pregnant.

    The Nation gathered that Akuna who is also known as Orutebe, an indigene of Ogulagha Kingdom in Burutu council area of Delta state, had admitted being responsible for his daughter’s pregnancy, having been held and interrogated by the leaders of Ugboroke community, where he is resident.

    The lid was let off when neighbours started observing that Elizabeth was showing signs of pregnancy. It was gathered that the girl told those on the inquest that he had been impregnated by her father, who had slept with her a couple of times.

    Confirming the development to the Nation, a community source, who wished his identity to be kept anonymous, said this would not be the first time the husband of two wives would be involved in ugly incest issues, citing cases where he had been accused of sleeping with and impregnating his niece.

    “This is not the first time he is indulging in such act as he also impregnated his niece on two separate occasions. The girl upon further interrogation also revealed that aside her father, her elder brother from another mother who is also on the run, deflowered her and had also been sleeping with her”, he said.

    Also confirming the incident, a source at the Warri ‘B’ Division where the case was reported, disclosed that one of the wives of the suspect, Grace Akuna was arrested in connection with the incident.

    “The wife has since been released following intervention by an Ijaw monarch. But we are still looking for the man and his son,” the source added.

  • Father, son charged with incest

    A 56-year-old man, Sunday Adimagwu, and his son, Kenneth, 21, were yesterday arraigned before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court on a charge of incest.
    Adimagwu, a driver, was accused of having sexual intercourse with his 12-year-old daughter while Kenneth, the girl’s half-brother, also allegedly defiled her.
    The defendants live at No. 4, Ilogbo Street, Ajangbadi, Okokomaiko.
    Prosecuting Inspector Clifford Ogu said the alleged offences were committed between last September and April this year at the defendants’ residence.
    Ogu said the girl, following a separation between her mother and the father, lived with her father and stepmother.
    He said: “Both sexually assaulted the girl on different occasions; father and son took turns to defile her. When the girl had the opportunity, she ran to her mother‘s house and told her what she had been going through — persistent sexual assault.”
    Outraged, her mother reported the matter at the police station and the man was apprehended, Ogu added.
    According to him, the offence contravened Section 259 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015. The defendants pleaded not guilty.
    Chief Magistrate Taiwo Akanni granted each defendant N250,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.
    The case was adjourned till June 19.

  • Man gets two years for incest

    Rivers State High Court yesterday sentenced a 58-year-old man to two years in prison for sexually abusing his 10-year-old daughter.

     The man, who has been on trial for about five years, was convicted of incest.

     The convict, Mr. John Ufoegbu, on January 10, 2011, was charged to court for sexually abusing his daughter.

     Justice Adolphus Enebeli convicted the accused to two years in prison. He had spent five years before the verdict.

     Delivering judgment, Justice Enebeli said the act was a pathetic case of sexual act between father and daughter, adding that it was not just a case of molestation.

     Justice Enebeli stressed that the society should  protect children’s vulnerability to sexual abuse, noting that such act was punishable under Rivers State Child Act, 2010.

     The judge said Ofoegbu violated natural laws by luring his daughter into a hotel room and having canal knowledge of her. He said the act had thrown the little girl into long term psychological trauma.

      The convict said: “The girl is my daughter. I have never had any sexual experience with her even if I have problems with her mother. God is my witness and the greatest judge.”

      Speaking to The Nation, the victim’s counsel, Cordelia Eke, said: “Because of the pathetic nature of the case, I would not say we won, rather I hope the victim derives solace from the fact that justice has been served.”

      Counsel for the convict Mr. Eginson Unwene said he would appeal the judgment, if his client so desires.

  • Rape, paedophilia, incest: The ugly trends of 2015

    Rape, paedophilia, incest: The ugly trends of 2015

    Almost unbelievably, the out-gone year 2015, went down as the year in which Nigeria recorded the most incidences of sexual crimes, with cases of rape, incest and paedophilia assaulting our consciousness almost on a daily, if not hourly basis. Gboyega Alaka throws a retrospective look on the year, mirroring some of the horrific cases and seemingly pricking the conscience of perpetrators.

    Looked in the papers today? Most likely, you caught a glimpse of some sexual assault story or the other. Yeah, some violent rape or despicable paedophilia! The year 2015 certainly recorded an overdose of sexual assault cases, almost going down as the year with the most cases of sexual crimes in recent memory in the country.

    Suddenly, sex crime is in our faces, like never before, and it just seems like Nigerians have lost their sense of decency and responsibility. An online commentator even asked during a discussion, if the libido of Nigerian men has suddenly gone up. If it’s not the father assaulting his own baby-girl, it is the trusted uncle taking advantage of the niece or some under-age in the neighbourhood. Sometimes, it is the trusted neighbour, the respected grandpa, the revered pastor, imam, mualim or teacher, who is suddenly in the news, for having carnal knowledge of a minor. Sometimes, the victim is cajoled and benignly taken advantage of; but sometimes, it is forceful, violent rape; leaving the victim physically and psychologically bruised and scarred. In some extreme cases, the victims – especially those who resist, lose their lives or get maimed for life.

    As if to corroborate the unholy tag on the out-gone year, Mrs Itoro Eze-Anaba, founder of the Mirabel Centre, which rescues and rehabilitates victims of sexual assaults, as well as pursues prosecution of perpetrators, told this reporter of how the number of cases recorded at the centre climbed to over 50 and consistently remained there in the last quarter of 2015, compared to an average of 20 to 30 cases, which the centre used to record when it was founded over two years ago. It is important to note though that Eze-Anaba, even with this statistics, did not agree to the position that 2015 has recorded the highest cases of sexual assault in recent times, as she argued that what might seems like a rise could be ascribed to the fact that more people now report rape and other cases of sexual assault, unlike before.

    Even Ogun state, a state reputed for its laid-back and quiet lifestyle is not left out in the growing trend of horrific human assault, with official information showing that the state records an average of 15 rape cases every week in the out-gone year. This of course translates to an average of 60 cases in a month and even surpasses that of the Mirabel Centre, reputed to be the busiest as far as number of cases received in Lagos is concerned.

    As at December 2014, Lagos State Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Ade Ipaye revealed that the state was prosecuting as many as 113 suspected rape cases at the state High Court. He said four local governments – Alimosho, Kosofe, Agege and Oshodi-Isolo had been identified as the LGAs with the highest cases of sexual and gender-based violence in the state.

    Between March 2012 and March 2013, the Lagos State Police command revealed that the command recorded 678 reported cases of rape in the state.

    But if one would have to go by the fact that more people are beginning to report sexual assault cases in 2015, it may then mean that a grimmer picture knocks on our sense of reality. This undoubtedly connotes an epidemic, with a growth or spread rate akin – or worse than that of the dreaded Ebola disease, when it landed in on the West African coast in 2014.

    Unfortunately, Nigerians may not even have anything near a clear picture of the epidemic plaguing their land. Hajia Zainab Maina, a former Minister of Women Affairs not long ago, asserted that the number of gender-based violence cases reported in the country is still very low, compared to the real prevalence rates hidden by fear of stigma and secrecy. She noted that the overview on gender-based violence from 18 states of the federation covering the six geo-political zones include: 21.08 percent of sexual violations, 44.25 per cent of physical violations, 18.37 percent of domestic violence, 11.48 percent of harmful traditional practices and 2.92 percent of economic violations. She therefore posited that sexual violence ranked second amongst all violations and concluded that “this is the pattern on the national scale.

    In an article titled “Nigeria’s soaring cases of paedophilia,” Jide Ojo, Executive Director, OJA Development Consult, Abuja expressed fears that “if something is not done and very fast too, we (Nigeria) may end up being the country with the highest number of rape cases in the world.

    Nigerian man Jailed 330 years for rape and incest in the US

    As if to boost the negative reputation of the year 2015 and underline Ojo’s fear, a national newspaper a fortnight ago, broke the news of a Nigerian father, Emmanuel Ngene, who by the last yuletide, would have spent six years in jail out of his 330 jail sentence in a South Eastern USA jail, for first degree rape of his daughter. Although, the convict has continued to deny the allegations, together with his network of family and friends, insisting it was a frame-up engineered by his wife; the judgement nevertheless remains. Ngene was said to have had vaginal intercourse with his daughter approximately 10 times over the spate of one year; three of these times, he was said to have turned her on her stomach and penetrated her through the anus. The victim only opened up to her mother in August 2008.

    While that iota of a possibility of innocence may still remain on the part of Ngene, the American judicial system nevertheless remains convinced. After thorough investigation, the jury found him guilty of all 15 counts and also found the existence of an aggravating factor – that Ngene took “advantage of a position of trust or confidence.” The trial court therefore entered 15 separate judgement: four consecutive aggravated-range sentences of 300 to 369 months imprisonment for the four counts of first degree rape; three consecutive aggravated-range sentences of 300 to 369 months imprisonment for the three counts of first degree sex offence; four consecutive presumptive-range sentence of 16 to 20 months imprisonment for the four counts of incest, and four consecutive presumptive-range sentences of 16 to 20 months for the four counts of indecent liberties with a child.

    As he continues his hibernation in jail, holding firmly onto his claim of innocence, Ngene would occasionally wonder if he indeed should have pleaded guilty and get away with a 15-year jail term, as recommended by the prosecutor, rather than face up to trial and end up with a hopeless case of endless years in jail.

    Back home in Nigeria, even the aura of Christmas, a commemoration of the birth of the Christ and Saviour of the Christian faith, could not stop 62-year-old Adewale Enoch, obviously a Christian – at least by name; from raping a 12-year old daughter of his neighbour, right on Boxing Day in Abigi area of Ogun State. Enoch is now cooling off at Eleweran police station, Abeokuta, Ogun State, where he is likely to spend his New Year, after the father of the victim, decided against the culture of silence of the past, and reported the matter to the police.

    Amazing paedophilia statistics

    Before now, the argument most people put forward to somewhat justify rape and shift the blame on the women victims as the provocateurs was indecent exposure and sexually provocative dressing; but like a curious mind asked recently at a public debate on the rape epidemic: What could be so attractive in a two year old girl (or even eight, 10 or 14 year old)?

    Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, Executive Director, Project Alert, another organisation that addresses domestic violence, including rape and based in Lagos, recently said that “70 percent of reported rape cases in Nigeria today involve young people and children of ages 17 to zero.”

    In September, 41-year-old Emeka Igwe of Federal Housing Estate, Meiran, Ojokoro, Lagos State was apprehended for repeatedly raping his seven year-old daughter and inadvertently getting her addicted to masturbation.

    In the same vein, a 34-year-old factory worker, Mohammed Ahmed, was paraded by officials of the Osun State command of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps after he confessed to raping his 14-year old daughter six times.

    In the Bwari area of the Federal Capital Territory, one Monday Goodwill was arrested for defiling a 3 year-old girl. Incidentally, it was not his first time, as according to a police officer at Mpape Police Station, who craved anonymity, Goodwill had previously been convicted for raping a four year-old and got away on a N3, 000 fine.

    In Ogun State, a 60 year-old private hostel owner, Akinduro was apprehended by the police following reports that he raped a 12 year-old female student of the Mayflower School who was staying in his hostel.

    In Taraba State, 27-year-old Williams Julius was arrested by the police and taken before a court on allegations of rape. Julius was reportedly arraigned before a Magistrate Court in Jalingo, the state capital, for having forceful sexual intercourse with a five-year-old girl.

    A case of mental disorder

    In 2014, one Kayode Akanni, 25, of Pedepo Village via Ohunbe Ogun State, who was arrested after he defiled a three year old girl, who had come to see him like an uncle and father figure. Even he confessed that the girl’s parents had been leaving her in his custody for a long time, and that he didn’t know what came over him on the fateful day. The alternate implication of Akanni’s confession is therefore that parents must not make a habit of keeping their vulnerable wards with certain men just because things have always gone on well, for you never know when “the devil may come upon such men.”

    Interestingly, it might seems like more Nigerian parents fall into this trap because they only consider the ragged human specimen, with tattered hair and unkempt appearance, roaming the streets, as being with psychological disorder or mad. But what does one say of a 26 year-old who after being  arrested for defiling an 18-month old child, confessed that the sight of the baby usually aroused his libido.

    Incidentally, even Wikipedia defines paedophilia as a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children, generally age 11 and younger.

    Four -year-old raped to death

    In Bayelsa, a report made available to UNICEF (United Nations Children Emergency Fund) by the State Coordinator of the Child Protection Network (CPN), Mrs. Mariam Kombo-Ezeh, revealed how a four year old girl was raped to death by a 40 year-old man in Southern Ijaw Local Government Area. There was also the case of a 7 year-old, who died of HIV/AIDS contracted after being raped by a full grown man; and also the pathetic case of the gang-rape of a 13 year-old girl in Yenagoa, the state capital.

    The flip side

    Not to be discriminatory against the men-folk, there was also a recent case of a 60-year-old widow, who was raped by a youth of between 17 and 25 years in Opi Local Government area of Enugu State. Such incidences prevailed in the eastern part of the country about two, three years ago, and though many blamed it on the seeming haste of youngsters to get rich through rituals, the truth is, some might have been outright desire for bizarre sex.

    Abominable incest everywhere!

    Like never before, fathers also seem to have become more attracted to their daughters; jeopardising chances of any possibility of a safe haven for the girl child.

    In Delta State, the police arrested a 46 year old man, Morris Ndidwe for allegedly defiling his 11 year-old daughter. Ndidwe’s wife, while testifying, said she had earlier left their matrimonial home, following her husband’s insatiable thirst for sex, which saw him impregnate another girl, a neighbour’s daughter. She only returned recently, to find her husband abusing their eleven year-old daughter.  She said: “My daughter told me what she was going through in the hand of her father whenever she (mother) was not around and when I asked my husband, he denied saying, he had stopped the act since he repented.”

    Things however got to a head, when she went to vigil one night and returned to again hear the story of how he had assaulted their 11 year-old daughter. “I decided to check my daughter’s private part, but my husband refused and almost beat me, but thanks to my neighbours who intervened.”

    In a similar case, 35 year-old Harrison Agu was arraigned before an Ikeja Chief Magistrate court on November 8 over an assault on his six year-old daughter. The accused pleaded not guilty to the crime, but the prosecutor, Inspector Simon Imhonwa insisted before the magistrate that Agu had regularly defiled the little girl within the last three years.

    In another bizarre occurrence, a seven year-old girl narrated how her father usually played with her private part and inserted his manhood in her mouth. The victim, who lives with her father in Ojokoro said her father would thereafter give her some money as gratification after fondling her breast and dipping his manhood in her mouth.

    The accused identified as Chukwuemeka Odunzie, allegedly started defiling his daughter early 2014.

    In the same vein, a national newspaper reported in September 2015 how a father confessed to raping his daughter “only six times,” as if he even has any right to sexual relationship with her, let alone, a forceful one.

    ‘Men of God’ not left out

    In November 2015, the Nassarawa State Police command nabbed a 46 year-old pastor, Ifeanyi Bernard, for allegedly raping a 13 year-old girl in Karu Local Government Area of the State. The ‘man of God’ was said to have committed the crime on November 3 during a deliverance session between him and the teenager. The pastor on his part blamed the crime on the devil and promised not to let it happen again.

    In the same vein, a 40-tyear-old pastor, Abraham Akpan, was in September charged before a Lagos Magistrate Court for defiling a 16 year-old girl while conducting deliverance prayer on her. Akpan, who at the time of the crime, resided at 39, Hassan Ogunmola Street, in Ijaiye, Lagos, was said to have committed the crime between August 27 and 29 2015, in his apartment.

    Also in Ondo state, a 55-year old pastor, Jacob Ojomo was arrested for having carnal knowledge of a 15 year-old girl. The state commandant of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Adeyinka Fasiu said the mother of the victim caught the pastor in the act and raised an alarm. He disclosed that the crime was perpetrated at the plaza axis of Oke Ijebu Road in the state.

    Ivory towers not left out

    In August 2015, one Professor Cyril Ndifon, dean, Faculty of Law, Univeristy of Calabar was alleged to have sexually assaulted a 20 year-old 400-level Law student of the university. A month earlier in July, one Dr. Akin Baruwas, a lecturer with the University of Lagos was alleged to have raped an 18 year-old female admission seeker. The latter case generated a lot of buzz and controversy, with the university disowning the suspected rapist.

    While cases of sexual assault and rape may not be new in our ivory towers, it might seem like more of the students are becoming bolder, and exposing their assailants.

    The Law on sexual offences in perspective

    Section 357 of the Criminal Code Act, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, addresses the problem of rape in a most decisive manner, stipulating that anyone found guilty of rape must be punished with life imprisonment.

    Perhaps, admitting that the crime rate has indeed attained an epidemic phenomenon, the Nigerian Senate in June 2015 passed the Sexual Offences Bill, 2015, prescribing a massive life imprisonment for rapists and those who have sexual intercourse with children under 11 years. The bill sponsored mainly by Senator Chris Anyanwu from Imo State, listed some of the offences as gang rape, lacing drinks with drugs with intent to sexually abuse (date rape), deliberately infecting partner with HIV and other diseases, child sex tourism, sexual harassment and prostitution of persons with mental disabilities.

    The bill also stipulates the storing of names of sexual offenders in a database for institutional and social discrimination, such that “culprits would never be employed in any institution where they may pose a risk to unsuspecting persons.”

    In addition, offenders would be subjected to compulsory medical examination, while as a deterrent mischief makers, who bring false allegations against any person, would also be liable to serious punishment.

  • Incest: Ex-soldier jailed for life

    An Ogun State High Court sitting in Abeokuta, the state capital, yesterday blasted a retired soldier, Alabi Ibrahim, for being “shameless and undeserving of being in the society” for sleeping with his wife and daughter.

    The court, which described Alabi’s conduct as an “abomination”, sentenced him to life imprisonment for not only defiling his 10-year-old stepdaughter, but also for infecting her with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).

    Alabi committed the crime in 2012 in his Abeokuta home, where both the little girl and her mother resided.

    The assault drew the attention of the Child Protection Network (CPN), a Non-Governmental Organisation, which fights for children’s rights.

    A medical report from the Federal Medical Centre (FMC), Abeokuta, tendered in court by Dr Seyi Adejobi, showed that the convict had sexually assaulted the girl and also infected her with HIV.

    The convict’s blood sample also tested positive to HIV.

    The girl, in her oral evidence, told the court that the assault was routine as she had lost count of how often she was raped by her step-father.

    According to her, the convict always threatened to kill her, if she ever told anybody about it.

    Ibrahim’s counsel Adebola Okudoro argued that the allegation was hearsay and appealed to the court to temper justice with mercy.

    Okudoro said: “The accused is a first-time offender. His health should be taken into consideration.

    “He is infected with HIV, and will need access to medical attention, which is very expensive, and there are no such facilities in prison.

    “The accused is the breadwinner of his family. He has several dependants. We pray the court to temper justice with mercy.”

    But Justice Abiodun Akinyemi held that the victim’s testimony during cross examination and the medical report convinced the court that the accused defiled and infected the girl.

    Justice Akinyemi added that the convict’s action has brought a permanent stigma on the girl while medical report does not suggest that she had earlier been sexually assaulted as the convict made the court to believe.

    “I am fully convinced that the accused repeatedly defiled the girl. I found the accused guilty as charged. I find it not in my mind to show any mercy.

    “The man is shameless, sleeping with mother and child. What an abomination! People like him need not to be in the society.

    “I, therefore, sentence him to life imprisonment, he should however be given access to reasonable treatment.”

  • Incest: A painful story swept under the carpet

    Incest: A painful story swept under the carpet

    Tales of victims of incest and those who commit this abominable act are usually swept under the carpet.  And the list of victims continue to swell on a daily basis. Yetunde Oladeinde takes a look at why incest occurs, cases and the challenge of bringing perpetrators to book

    It was a very sad story. And as she talked about it she just could not hold back tears. Her brother-in-law who was in his twenties had been having incestuous relationship with her daughter. When Bose discovered, all hell was let loose in the house and she reported to her mother-in-law. It was at this point that she hit the brick wall, the old woman asked her to either forget the matter or be kicked out of her matrimonial home if she opened her mouth to talk about the matter again in public.

    Even though it was a very painful experience, she decided to keep quiet and have peace at home. “I tried to let my mother-in-law see reasons with me, but she just did not understand. First, she insinuated that this was a ploy to make my husband hate his brother and threatened to fight me with everything if it resulted in any cracks in the family. To buttress her point, mama also claimed that I did not train my daughter properly and that the girl must have made some seductive moves towards her son.”

    Bose is not alone, most times victims of incest are ashamed to speak in public because of the stigma associated with it. Unfortunately, the perpetrators of this act, usually family members and close relatives, continue without being checkmated.

    Last month, officials of the Lagos State Ministry of Youths, Sports and Social Development arrested a 39- year-old bricklayer, Olarenwaju Wasiu, for allegedly raping his 14-year-old daughter. The evil deed was committed at his residence in Awoyaya – Ajah, Lagos; and after carrying out their investigations, it was discovered that he slept with his daughter twice weekly and threatened to kill the girl if she told anyone.

    Frightened, the girl kept mute and complied with daddy’s instructions. However, the bubble burst one day when the poor girl just could not take it anymore; she broke down in tears in school. Her teachers and other students got worried and tried to unravel this tearful puzzle. Then she opened up and told the sad story.

    Could this really be true? On his part, Wasiu did not deny the allegations: “I did not know what came over me, it is not my fault. I don’t know how it happened. It is the devil’s work. I only slept with her twice weekly.”

    Another moving example comes from Mary Adetokunboh Akinsanya, a teenager. “My father started abusing me sexually at the age of 14 years. We used to run a computer school and some of the boys who came for the training took advantage of me. When this happened, I told my father about it. Then he told me that the only remedy that would heal me was if he did the same thing to me. I accepted and ever since my dad has been sleeping with me. It has happened about 15 or 16 times now.”

    You want to know her mother’s reaction to all this, and she replies this way: “Initially, I thought that my mum did not know but later I realised that she did but pretended not to notice because she was afraid of him.”

    Akinsanya added: “My dad usually sleeps with me when my mother is cooking in the kitchen and there are times that he would send her out to go and get something. We have a second house and there are times when he takes me there to make love to me.”

    Maureen Adigun is a counsellor and she has handled a number of cases relating to incest. “There was a very pathetic case that made me cry when I handled it. The lady kept on having extra marital affairs and while we were investigating the matter, we realised that Funsho was a victim of incest.

    “Funsho and her younger sisters were victims of incest by their father. Her father, from the age of nine, sexually abused Funsho until she was 13. She was particularly angry with her mother for not protecting her from the abuse. He stopped sexually abusing her when she turned 13 and was about to start her periods. Her father turned his sight on his next pre-menstrual daughter, Funsho’s immediate younger sister.”

    So, why do people indulge in this crime even when they know it’s wrong? “Too many people often assume the devil as the cause of their evil deeds. I know of a recent incident which happened to a friend. In fact, the couple had been married for about 20 years and the union was blessed with three children, a boy and two girls. On that fateful day, Mrs. Blessing Onunkwe, a businesswoman, decided to go home to take some rest. Unfortunately for her, as she opened the door to the bedroom, she caught her husband on her matrimonial bed having intercourse with their first daughter.”

    The big question on the lips of many is what should a woman do if she finds herself in these shoes? According to Naomi Peters, a textile merchant, this should be a no-go area for her man. “No, I just cannot comprehend that kind of idea at all. How can he be sleeping with me and at the same time sleeping with my daughter? Such a man is wicked. As for me, I will take my daughter out of that house and make sure that he never sets his eyes on me again.”

    “Personally, I would forgive him because if I don’t, our marriage will lead to divorce. Though it won’t be easy to forget what I encountered between my husband and my daughter, I will forgive him.”

    Like Blessing, Mrs. Gbemi Awonuga, a health practitioner, says it is better to let sleeping dogs lie in the matter. “I will forgive him. Though it takes the grace of God to forgive, however, I will forgive him, because if you read your bible very well you would see that Jesus Christ forgave the adulterous woman irrespective of her sin. So, as a Christian, I need to follow the example of my master. I will forgive the man, though it won’t be easy for me to forget that occurrence.”

    Shrouding incest and child sexual abuse in mystery is unhelpful. Denying that such acts occur among Nigerians is also counterproductive. “We need to recognise that educational attainment, ethnicity, geographical location or social class does not limit incest. That withdrawn child in your Sunday School class or mosque might be a victim of child sexual abuse. That promiscuous girl on your street may be an incest survivor. That nice woman in your office may be a perpetrator,” bemoaned Folashade Ajayi, a counsellor.

    She added that “by establishing trusting relationships with people, you may be able to offer them help and support. By becoming more aware of one’s environment and asking questions, neighbours, nurses, teachers and everyday folk may help rescue victims of incest from an unbearable situation. Finally, by providing education on sex, treatment for victims and focusing on preventive measures, we as a society can provide hope and succour to those who are trapped in incest or live with the residual effects of this damaging practice.”

    Incest is as old as time itself. The 19th chapter of the book of Genesis in the Holy Bible records incest between Lot and his daughters. Incest is a cultural term that describes sexual contact between closely related persons, especially between members of a nuclear family, i.e. between parents and children or between siblings. Incest can also be sexual liaisons between adult members of a family. A blood relationship does not have to be established before such sexual acts qualify as incest. When individuals live together under the same roof as a family, sexual intercourse between such is incest.

    Incest is different from childhood sexual abuse. A child can be sexually assaulted by a stranger, that does not qualify as incest. However, intrafamilial child sexual abuse is what occurs when an adult parent sexually assaults a biological child or a minor in the family. Incest on the other hand can occur between family members of all ages. We also have cases of elderly sexual abuse, where adult children or caregivers sexually abuse frail senior citizens.

    Incest can be consensual in situations where both parties are adults and mutually consent to the sexual activity. In 2007, the German courts intervened in the case of a brother, Patrick Stubing and his biological sister, Susan Karolewski. They had given birth to four children from their incestuous relationship. Incest that occurs between underage siblings often has the older child coercing the younger child by virtue of the power differential in the relationship; as such, a situation cannot be described as consensual.

    The principal actor and instigator in majority of incest cases are males, usually the father, stepfather, uncle or brother, while in child sexual cases, majority of the victims are female, i.e. daughters, stepdaughters, grandchildren, cousins etc. Some researches show that up to 95% of offenders in sexual abuse cases are men and offenders are punished under the law.

    The Yoruba’s as well many other African ethnic groups ostracise and socially sanction incest participants as the practice is viewed as an abomination. In the biblical book of Leviticus, incest carried a death penalty.

    What are characteristics of incestuous families? According to Jide Babajide: “Traditionally, such families are described by terms such as dysfunctional, secretive, psychologically, physically and socially isolated people. In addition, you find that incestuous fathers are profiled as emotionally immature, rigid and patriarchal. It is tough to be a mother in an average family and worse being in this kind of family. Mothers in incestuous families are sad people; they may be emotionally needy, in denial or often away from home on overnight trips. That is why women must live up to their responsibilities and serve as a guide in every family”.

    He adds that: “The victim, because of fear, shame and coercion by the extended family, often conceals incest. Have you ever wondered what a child who is being molested frequently by his parent is exposed to? Who can he or she turn to for help? Of course, we all know that a child who is molested by a stranger can run home for help and comfort, but the child victim of incest cannot. Such children are dependent and entrapped in these sick families.

    Throw into this mix, superstitions, fetish rituals and unhealthy respect for elders and you have a child victim in bondage.

    Experts also inform that children are not physically or psychologically prepared to handle recurring sexual stimulation and sexual abuse and this often has a lasting negative impact on the life of the victims. Child victims of incest and child sexual abuse present with certain peculiar traits and behaviours. These include a host of mental health issues such as depression, anxiety, personality disorders, and post traumatic stress disorders. Other behaviours include nightmares, aggression and sexual promiscuity.