The Nation Newspaper

Tag: rape victim

  • Child ‘rape’ victim’s parents seek justice

    The parents of a four-year-old allegedly raped by a 30-year-old neighbour have been trying to get the molester punished for his crime.

    The crime was said to have been committed in Kado village in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).

    The ‘rapist’ reportedly pulled down the little girl’s trousers and started touching her. He later threatened to cut her with a knife and kill her if she told anyone what happened.

    The girl’s mother discovered when she was bathing her daughter and getting her ready for bed. The woman said her daughter was complaining of pains in her private part as she bathed her at night.

    The child’s father, who pleaded anonymity for him and his daughter, said, “On the 1st of this month, my wife was bathing her for bed and when she tried to wash her private part, she told her not to wash it because it was paining her. After a lot of persuasion she said their neighbor whom she called Uncle, pulled her trouser and touched her.

    “On a closer look, the mother realised her daughter had been raped by the neighbour and her private part had been opened. I reported the case to the police and he was immediately arrested. Then the case was transferred to Life Camp Division.

    “The lawyer to the accused after a few days went to court and appeared with a release order and the man was released without even contacting us, saying that he will be invited when the medical report is ready.

    “When the police asked my daughter, she pointed him out and insisted that he was the one that pulled down her trousers, they took her back to my compound and she showed them the room where the incident took place but when they left her alone with him, he told her to keep quiet and that he will beat and kill her if she tells anyone about what he did to her. She became scared and told her mother not to take her back home because Uncle had threatened to beat and kill her if she tells anyone of what he did.

    When asked by our reporter, the girl repeated in a small voice that Uncle had pulled down her trousers, touched her and threatened to beat and cut her with a knife if she told anyone.

    Founder/CEO the Twin and I Child Care Foundation, Hajiya Aisha Tokura explained that it was too much trauma for a little girl to not only be raped but threatened to be killed by her molester.

    She said, ”I have talked to the father of the girl and heard the story of what the man did to the girl and how he threatened her life that he was going to kill her afterwards, which is wrong for a four-year-old to have to experience after what he has done; now he is threatening her.

    “We have taken up the case and gotten Federation of International Women Lawyer (FIDA) involved in the case; also we are hoping that this case will be an eye-opener for a lot of parents that do not want to fight such cases or turn around in the middle.  I am happy with the girl’s father because he is determined to get justice for his daughter.

    “We went to the police station today, I don’t know why they released the accused or why the case has not veen transferred yet to the CID as it should.

    “The DPO told us that as soon as the result is out, the case will be transferred to CID or taken to court, her molester has been released; they say he comes in every morning to sign at the station. All I want is to see that justice is served.”

  • NGO demands justice for Ekiti rape victim

    New Generation Girls and Women Development (NIGAWD), a non-governmental organisation, has called on the leaders of the two drivers’ unions in Ekiti State to fish out the driver who allegedly raped a female student in Ikere-Ekiti.

    In a statement made available to reporters in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital, the Executive Director of NIGAWD, Abimbola Aladejare condemned the act which he said has become too frequent in recent past.

    Aladejare urged the state councils of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) to swing into action on the matter.

    She said: “Rape is a menace in our society. However, very few cases are reported and sometimes justice is not done to most of the reported cases as they are swept under the carpet.

    “The NIGAWD has noted with great concern the insistent occurrence of rape cases and sexual abuse of girls and women in Ekiti State.

    “NIGAWD, in strong terms, condemns the recent incidence of rape that happened at College of Education Ikere-Ekiti on September 17, 2017 to a 100-level student. We recall that several rape cases have occurred in Ekiti State of which the victim is stigmatised and victimised without any justice recorded.

    “Rape is an offence to humanity and must be treated as such. A person commits rape if he or she intentionally penetrates the vagina, anus or mouth of another person with any other part of his or her body and the other partner does not consent to the penetration. It also occurs if the consent is obtained by force or means of threat or intimidation of any kind or by fear of harm or by means of false and fraudulent representation. It also an act of rape if it is carried out with the use of any substance or additive capable of taking away the will of such person.

    “NIGAWD is calling on relevant stakeholders of College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti and community elite to take up this case as NIGAWD would not want the matter to be swept under the carpet without justice as it is the usual practice in most cases.

    “NIGAWD is calling on the leadership of Road Transport Workers in Ekiti State, especially the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and Road Transport Employers’ Association of Nigeria (RTEAN) to use their good offices to fish out the perpetrator of the rape incidence and bring him to book.”

  • Rape victim denies relationship with her assailant

    17-year-old girl (names with held) who was allegedly raped by her neighbour, Lucky Micheal, 18, has denied been in any relationship with him before the incident.

    The victim made this clarification yesterday during the arraignment of her alleged assailant, Micheal, before an Ikeja Magistrate court presided by Magistrate Bola Osunsanmi.

    Magistrate Osunsanmi had asked for the complainant to be brought before court and asked if she was in any relationship with the defendant because of the age proximity.

    The victim insisted that she is not into any relationship with the defendant aside the fact that they are neighbours.

    The police arraigned the defendant on a one count charge bordering on sexual assault.

    Prosecuting Inspector Simeon Imhonwa alleged that the defendant allegedly assaulted the victim by penetration.

    Inspector Imhonwa said the offence was committed on August 7 at Orile Agege, Lagos and contrary to the provisions of the Lagos State Criminal Law 2011.

    The defendant pleaded not guilty.

    Magistrate Osunsanmi granted the defendant N200,000 bail with two sureties in the like sum.

    She adjourned the matter till October 3.

  • Between a law enforcer and rape victim

    Between a law enforcer and rape victim

    There are so many things about a rape victim and law enforcer. As a matter of fact some things contrast them: One is male the other is female, one is a career police officer, and the other awaits her WASSCE result. One is supposed to be an agent for the maintenance of the law; the other is supposed to be a recipient of the protection by the law. One attained his status by age and experience, the other is 22, trying to arrange the bits of her life.

    One word compares them – rape.

    Mr. Oladipo Afolayan was until very recently, the divisional police officer in Magodo police station, Lagos. He was arrested for raping a female suspect in an ongoing investigation in his office. Few months ago, Mr. Adekunle Awe, another Divisional Police Officer at Onikan Police station was arrested for raping a woman – Idowu Akinwunmi – in his office. No information yet on the outcome of a room trial, censuring or charging Adekunle Awe to court.

    Miss Ifeoma Okechukwu, a native of Mgbidi, Imo state, in her statement, admitted to killing a man who wanted to rape her in her apartment by playing along with him. She told the would-be rapist that she wanted to remove the pot she had on fire as an excuse to go out. Okechukwu said, “on getting there, I saw a digger and carried it…I hit him hard on the head with the digger and he fell down and started shouting… I didn’t know the man would die. It was God that gave me the courage and the strength to lift the digger and hit him so hard.”

    While Okechukwu’s response may be open to the scrutiny of propriety or gravity, there is little doubt that the would-be rapist who was prematurely sent out of the community of the living could have been more cautious and have tamed his desire if he ever imagined the eventual outcome. It is still very possible that Oladipo Afolayan and Adekunle Awe, if the rule of law prevails, will in their flashbacks or musings wish their emotions or status did not betray them into engraving their names onto the wall of shame, making them a terror to the womenfolk and threatening their pensionable career.

    Okechukwu’s fate has not yet been decided, but Afolayan, by virtue of his career and status must be aware of Section 357 of the Criminal Code Act which states that “Any person who has unlawful carnal knowledge of a woman or girl, without her consent, or with her consent, if the consent is obtained by force or by means of threats or intimidation of any kind, or by fear of harm, or by means of false and fraudulent representation as to the nature of the act, or, in the case of a married woman, by personating her husband, is guilty of an offence which is called rape”.

    He must also be aware of section 358 which states that “Any person who commits the offence of rape is liable to imprisonment for life, with or without caning.”

    A popular author, Agnostic Zetetic said this about rape; “It’s the process of being minimised, invalidated, silenced. It’s the process of being subjected to whatever someone else thinks I owe them. It’s the process of being used, examined, explored and thrown away. It’s the process of being convinced to comply with the orders of someone who does not see me as their equal, someone who sees nothing wrong with the notion that I am somehow lesser than they are. Rape isn’t about sex; it’s about all those other things. It’s about power.”

    The notion that man is powerful and that woman is weak has enjoyed prevalence over millennia. From Plato to Aristotle, down to the primitive period and later the age of enlightenment in Europe, the womenfolk have been considered inferior to men. They were and are still largely seen as a gift from God ‘to please’ a man, and when possible, bear him children.

    In the 21st century, King Mswati III of the Kingdom of Swaziland and his countrymen in seeking a continuation of their culture stated that “women are unequal and inferior to their male counterparts”.

    If Afolayan is charged to court, he will be tried under the Nigerian criminal code, a law that is almost 100 years old. His prosecutor(s) in seeking a conviction may battle but not defeat his defence, because court proceedings require proof beyond reasonable doubt and evidences for a crime which is more often than not, committed secretly. This condition is yet strict.

    It is not yet stated that DPO Afolayan’s victim intends to pursue the abuse against her in court. If she however chooses to go to the court, she should be prepared for a possible backlash. She may need a reminder of the case of a girl who was reported to have been gang raped in Abia state with the video going viral. Some of the rapists were identified, but because she and her family were threatened, she was whisked away to safety and her parents later denied that their daughter suffered the abuse. This buttresses Liz Kelly (a London writer)’s conviction that “Rape is a unique crime, representing both a physical and psychological violation. In no other crime is the victim subject to so much scrutiny at trial, where the most likely defence is that the victim consented to the crime”. At the point of consent, it stops being rape.

    Okechukwu attributes her action in self defence to God’s help, such that she has been rescued from the psychological and emotional torture of being sexually abused. Her action ‘because of necessity’ may be justifiable in the eyes of many.

    Afolayan, on the other hand knows the law, but a common feature of wielding power includes trampling on the law and widening the impunity of those entrusted with power and leadership in Nigeria. Will his action also be justified?

  • Dead Roses: Story of a rape victim

    Dead Roses: Story of a rape victim

    To mark this year’s Women’s Day, Nigerian women threw their weight behind calls for a more stringent law against rape. Multi-talented Oluwakemi Omowaire’s novel, Dead Roses, gives a literary spice to the campaign against the inhuman act, writes Evelyn Osagie.

    That Saturday morning, the weather was right for enjoying a book. And Oluwakemi Omowaire’s novel, Dead Roses, was the pick.

    As I sat with the novel, a cool glass of Hibiscus flower drink in hand and the melodious tunes of the legendary musician, Tracy Chapman in the background, the book brought back memories.

    The first thing that attracted me was its cover design that bore the half-face painting of the author with patches of red on her eyebrow, lips and ear. It was no smiling Kemi, as she is fondly called, that stared at one, forcing one to pause and reflect on the significance of the picture and the colour red – love or rage?

    The novel tells a story of love that turns sour on a day when “love” is to be worshipped and celebrated. Ironically, the 13-year-old protagonist was gang-raped and died ultimately on Valentine’s Day. With the cases of rape on the rise, Kemi’s novel is a spicy addition to the many voices of reason.

    As I sat reading the book, as is usual with such pre-occupations, it drew various emotions and memories from within.

    I remember seeing the heated emotions her novel raised during its unveiling at the reading of the Lagos State Chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA).

    Interestingly, Kemi chose to unveil her book few days to this year’s Valentine’s Day.

    I remember her being put on the hot seat; and her work rousing diverse issues that day, which ranged from the dearth of the art of letter writing; state of literature in the electronic age to the significance of women telling their own stories and more. But among the issues raised, the violent effect of “rape” on its victims and the need for drastic measures to curb the menace took centre stage.

    I remember the audience asking Kemi why her choice of concern, and she, answering so passionately, said: “The book is a tool to raise awareness and dialogue about rape, especially in our part of the world where it is rarely reported due to the social stigma cast on girls or women who have been raped. I chose the subject because it is something that I feel strongly moved about.”

    Kemi, the “advocate” raised alarm over the rise in the trend, saying: “Every now and then there are cases of forcible rapes. Cases of rape and other sexual assaults are increasingly on the rise and are becoming more common throughout the world. Almost every girl child has been close to being raped or assaulted at one time or the other either by a trusted fellow, cousin, close friends, even uncles or that elder brother in the neighbourhood.”

    When asked if she had been a victim of rape, Kemi smiled and said: “No”, that she was inspired by the story of a rape victim she heard while in secondary school.

    She recounted: “The girl was tricked to a stream on Valentine’s Day, raped and didn’t make it alive. Although I never knew her because she wasn’t in my school, I heard she was a good girl. I felt deeply hurt to hear that the life of a young girl was cut short because of someone’s sexual desires that couldn’t be tamed. I thought about her all through the night: imagining how happy she had been the night before and then, in the morning, her face wet with tears because of the pains she must have gone through while being raped. I didn’t want to forget her like that.

    “I decided to write about it to warn others that rape is not often all about carefulness. Some people have become victims regardless of their sexual orientation, age, gender, race, religion, or education. Many fall victim not because they are not cautious, but because their ‘predator(s)’ had it so well-planned that the victims are caught helpless in the face of their viciousness. I didn’t exactly know who the girl was but I decided to create a character named “Adebola” and built family, friends and events around her.”

    It was interesting how my mind would often wander from the book to the author and stories of rape one had heard. As I read on, I discovered another preoccupation worth noting.

    Aside rape, the book touches on the effect of broken marriage on the child. We see a young girl, who is trying hard to deal with the effect of her parents’ broken marriage and how far that singular event shaped her world for the worse.

    Adebola’s dilemma and state of mind at the divorce of her parents, took me a decade back into my childhood. The character reminded me of Ileya, not real name, who had a Jamaican mother and Nigerian father.

    In those days, she was a beauty to behold. She was every guy’s dream and every girl’s nightmare. I remember my elder ones and their friends talk about the pureness of her beauty and the many line of poetry they recited secretly in her honour. I remember older girls winched at the sight of her beauty while secretly wishing they had half of it.

    All went well for Ileya until her parents’ divorce, which was due to the death of one of their children. From then on, she moved from being the “village beauty” to victim of all sorts of abuse. Although, she was years older than I was, I remember feeling the pains in her teary eyes that had become a usual feature of her sad frame. I remember silently being angry with her parents for choosing divorce as last resort, while wondering whether the father, whom she was living with then, didn’t notice the changes in his daughter.

    That was the effect Kemi’s novel had on me that morning. Her concerns blended well with the lines,”What you gonna do, go and give a boy a gun…now there nowhere to run to…”from Chapman’s song Bang Bang Bang.

    Kemi’s work, not only highlights the consequence of divorce and rape, but, touches on the need for sex education and security tips at home and at school. Her imaginative attempt shows the discipline of a fine-artist that she is. Like her art exhibitions, she has again added another creative piece to the cause of humanity.

    Her background in psychology and biological science also comes into play in the story.

  • Dead Roses: Story of a rape victim

    Dead Roses: Story of a rape victim

    To mark this year’s Women’s Day, Nigerian women threw their weight behind calls for a more stringent law against rape. Multi-talented Oluwakemi Omowaire’s novel, Dead Roses, gives a literary spice to the campaign against the inhuman act, writes Evelyn Osagie.

    What Saturday morning, the weather was right for enjoying a book. And Oluwakemi Omowaire’s novel, Dead Roses, was the pick.

    As I sat with the novel, a cool glass of Hibiscus flower drink in hand and the melodious tunes of the legendary musician, Tracy Chapman in the background, the book brought back memories.

    The first thing that attracted me was its cover design that bore the half-face painting of the author with patches of red on her eyebrow, lips and ear. It was no smiling Kemi, as she is fondly called, that stared at one, forcing one to pause and reflect on the significance of the picture and the colour red – love or rage?

    The novel tells a story of love that turns sour on a day when “love” is to be worshipped and celebrated. Ironically, the 13-year-old protagonist was gang-raped and died ultimately on Valentine’s Day. With the cases of rape on the rise, Kemi’s novel is a spicy addition to the many voices of reason.

    As I sat reading the book, as is usual with such pre-occupations, it drew various emotions and memories from within.

    I remember seeing the heated emotions her novel raised during its unveiling at the reading of the Lagos State Chapter of the Association of Nigerian Authors (ANA).

    Interestingly, Kemi chose to unveil her book few days to this year’s Valentine’s Day.

    I remember her being put on the hot seat; and her work rousing diverse issues that day, which ranged from the dearth of the art of letter writing; state of literature in the electronic age to the significance of women telling their own stories and more. But among the issues raised, the violent effect of “rape” on its victims and the need for drastic measures to curb the menace took centre stage.

    I remember the audience asking Kemi why her choice of concern, and she, answering so passionately, said: “The book is a tool to raise awareness and dialogue about rape, especially in our part of the world where it is rarely reported due to the social stigma cast on girls or women who have been raped. I chose the subject because it is something that I feel strongly moved about.”

    Kemi, the “advocate” raised alarm over the rise in the trend, saying: “Every now and then there are cases of forcible rapes. Cases of rape and other sexual assaults are increasingly on the rise and are becoming more common throughout the world. Almost every girl child has been close to being raped or assaulted at one time or the other either by a trusted fellow, cousin, close friends, even uncles or that elder brother in the neighbourhood.”

    When asked if she had been a victim of rape, Kemi smiled and said: “No”, that she was inspired by the story of a rape victim she heard while in secondary school.

    She recounted: “The girl was tricked to a stream on Valentine’s Day, raped and didn’t make it alive. Although I never knew her because she wasn’t in my school, I heard she was a good girl. I felt deeply hurt to hear that the life of a young girl was cut short because of someone’s sexual desires that couldn’t be tamed. I thought about her all through the night: imagining how happy she had been the night before and then, in the morning, her face wet with tears because of the pains she must have gone through while being raped. I didn’t want to forget her like that.

    “I decided to write about it to warn others that rape is not often all about carefulness. Some people have become victims regardless of their sexual orientation, age, gender, race, religion, or education. Many fall victim not because they are not cautious, but because their ‘predator(s)’ had it so well-planned that the victims are caught helpless in the face of their viciousness. I didn’t exactly know who the girl was but I decided to create a character named “Adebola” and built family, friends and events around her.”

    It was interesting how my mind would often wander from the book to the author and stories of rape one had heard. As I read on, I discovered another preoccupation worth noting.

    Aside rape, the book touches on the effect of broken marriage on the child. We see a young girl, who is trying hard to deal with the effect of her parents’ broken marriage and how far that singular event shaped her world for the worse.

    Adebola’s dilemma and state of mind at the divorce of her parents, took me a decade back into my childhood. The character reminded me of Ileya, not real name, who had a Jamaican mother and Nigerian father.

    In those days, she was a beauty to behold. She was every guy’s dream and every girl’s nightmare. I remember my elder ones and their friends talk about the pureness of her beauty and the many line of poetry they recited secretly in her honour. I remember older girls winched at the sight of her beauty while secretly wishing they had half of it.

    All went well for Ileya until her parents’ divorce, which was due to the death of one of their children. From then on, she moved from being the “village beauty” to victim of all sorts of abuse. Although, she was years older than I was, I remember feeling the pains in her teary eyes that had become a usual feature of her sad frame. I remember silently being angry with her parents for choosing divorce as last resort, while wondering whether the father, whom she was living with then, didn’t notice the changes in his daughter.

    That was the effect Kemi’s novel had on me that morning. Her concerns blended well with the lines,”What you gonna do, go and give a boy a gun…now there nowhere to run to…”from Chapman’s song Bang Bang Bang.

    Kemi’s work, not only highlights the consequence of divorce and rape, but, touches on the need for sex education and security tips at home and at school. Her imaginative attempt shows the discipline of a fine-artist that she is. Like her art exhibitions, she has again added another creative piece to the cause of humanity.

    Her background in psychology and biological science also comes into play in the story.

    With her second novel entitled: When Everything Good Comes on the way, one cannot wait to see which cause Kemi would be upholding this time.

  • Court adjourns hearing on rape victim’s suit against police, others

    The Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos, has fixed April 2 for the hearing of a suit filed by a businesswoman, Mrs. Ngozi Ugwu, against the police and others over the alleged rape of her seven-year-old niece by three males.

    Justice Rita Ofili-Ajumogobia adjourned the suit to enable parties regularise their processes.

    She directed that hearing notices should be served on the fourth to sixth respondents.

    Mrs. Ugwu sued Kazeem Mohammed (40), Tobi Daramola (19) and James Anieskin (19) for allegedly defiling and torturing her niece.

    Chief Superintendent of Police Lucy Abimbola (Area Crime Officer, Idimu Police Command); Miss Anthonia (the Police Prosecutor of Court 6, Ikeja Magistrate’s Court) and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police are the other respondents.

    The applicant is demanding N100 million each from the first to third respondents as exemplary damages.

    She is also demanding N20 million from the first respondent and N5 million each from the second and third as general damages.

    Ugwu filed the suit on April 23, last year. In the originating motion, the applicant said the respondents are her neighbours at Greenland Estate in Lasu-Isheri Road, Alimosho, Lagos, where she also resides with her husband, her two kids and her niece.

    She stated that sometime in January, she had noticed blood stains on one of the infant’s under pant, and on enquiry, was shocked when her niece confessed that the first to third respondents had been defying her.

    Mrs. Ugwu said her niece told her that whenever she (Ugwu) was away in Abuja and her husband had gone to work, the first to third respondents came to the house and raped her.