Two boys docked for raping minor

Mararaba (Nassarawa) – Two boys aged between 15 and 16 were on Monday arraigned before a Mararaba Upper Area Court over an alleged rape of a girl, 15.

The police prosecutor, Nasir Shuaibu, told the court that when the incident happened, it was brought before the `A’ Division, Police Station in Mararaba, on Dec.11.

He said that the two accused persons, alongside three other suspects conspired and raped a 15-year–old girl in an uncompleted building which served as a hide-out for the group.

He said that the offences contravened Section 97 and Section 283 of the Penal Code.

The two accused persons pleaded not guilty to the offences against them.

The defense counsel, Charles Acholor, pleaded for bail for the accused persons, stressing that they were still presumed innocent.

Magistrate Vincent Gwahemba refused the bail for the accused persons, stating that the offence of rape was not a minor case.

He ordered that they be remanded in Keffi Prison and adjourned the case to Jan.14, 2013. (NAN)

http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/12/two-boys-docked-for-jointly-raping-minor/

Actress Belinda Effah partners Project Alert on sexual harassment

Our Reporter December 9, 2012 4 Comments »

Star of Kokomma, actress Belinda Effah, is partnering Project Alert, an NGO dedicated to creating awareness about the dangers of sexual abuse and rehabilitation of sexual abuse victims, in a new project designed to eliminate all forms of violence against women through the use of social media.

According to the Executive Director of Project Alert, Mrs. Josephine Chukwuma, this years, Project Alert will be focusing on youths and sexual violence in Nigeria. “Hardly a day goes without a report in either the print or electronic media of a young girl being sexually assaulted. More worrisome is the fact that these acts of sexual assaults are done with impunity.

Not only do the perpetrators commit the crime, they also flaunt it on social media,” she says. In the same vein, Belinda Effah, the lead character in Kokomma, a movie which x-rays rape, says she believes that the anti-sexual violence campaign must be taken to youths in school. The duo, who promised that they will use the campaign to sanitize the youths, will be visiting two schools on Monday and Tuesday in Lagos.

“Recently a very nauseating picture of a female toddler being sexually abused was circulated in the social media. Our young people are beginning to imbibe the sexual violence culture as a way of life. This is a dangerous development,” the actress said.

I forgive my husband but … says woman whose hubby killed only son, burnt her with hot pressing iron

By Evelyn Usman

Remember  the 36-year-old Mercy Nnadi, whose husband killed their only son and burnt her with hot pressing iron over allegation that she was having an affair with his father, eight months ago, in Okota area of Lagos?
To many residents of  the area, Mercy’s issue is a forgotten one, as they assumed she did not survive the  third degree burns that she sustained from the attack by her spouse. But how wrong they are because  as you read this piece, Mercy, who once looked a shadow of her old self is back to life.

She is presently occupying a one-room apartment in Agege area of Lagos, courtesy of three Non-Governmental Organisations; Project Alert on Violence Against Women, Centa for Development, and Zaharawomen.  Aside the apartment, the NGOs also gave her the sum of N150, 000 to start life afresh.

Even in the light of all this, Mercy, in this exclusive interview with Crime Guard, said nothing could fill the vacuum created by the demise of her son, Ebuka, who was barely one-year-old then. Although she stated that she had forgiven her  husband for making her go through  untold anguish, she vowed never to reunite with him again.

Recalling the incident of that fateful Saturday, April 7, 2012, which almost sent her to an unprepared grave, Mercy stated amidst tears: “ On that fateful  Saturday evening, my husband told me to cook yam for supper before leaving the house. After a long  wait for him to come back so that we could eat together,  I ate mine and slept with my baby.

*Mercy, 2nd left , receiving a cheque of N150,000 from Mrs Josephine Effah-Chukwuma,(1st right) while Nkiru of Centa for Development (2nd right) and a representative of WAPA look on

When he came back, he ate , put on the power generating set  before going to bed. Later, a neighbor knocked on the door to inform us that Power had been restored and he went to put off the power generating set. He came inside and started ironing   customers clothes because he is a dry cleaner.

By then, the room became hot and I left to take a shower and stayed outside  waiting for when he would be through . When he was done, he told me to fetch water for him to bath and I did.  While I was going to fetch the water, he started smoking before going to take his bath. We both retired  inside and I slept off after breast feeding our baby, Ebuka.

But a sharp  pain woke me up from sleep. At first, I thought I was dreaming. But no! Right in front of me was my husband of two years placing the hot pressing  iron on me. I screamed and begged him to stop. When I raised my hand to stop him, he  placed the hot iron on the hand.

I lifted my leg to prevent him from further attack, only for him to place it on my thighs, instructing me to keep quiet. As if that was not enough , as he placed the hot iron on me, he used a screw driver to pull off the skin, pressing the hot iron  harder on the same spot. As he was doing it, he kept asking me how many times his father had slept with me.

I begged him passionately but he would not listen. He  warned me to keep quiet informing that other members of his gang were outside . I did not know what he meant by that.

He concentrated more on my chest, by leaving the hot iron there for what seemed like eternity. Just then, our son Ebuka,  woke up  crying. I begged my husband to allow me breast feed him, so he could go back to sleep. Instead, he placed the pressing iron on my two breasts and at the same time used the screw driver to peel off the skin.

I shouted for help . But it was far from   me. At that point, he took my son away . Immediately he left the room , I rushed out to the kitchen where a neighbor offered me a wrapper to cover my nakedness. That was all I could remember until I found myself at New Evolution hospital”.

While Mercy succeeded in escaping from the Biblical shadow of death , same could not be said of her helpless  son, Ebuka. Eye witnesses said Henry dragged the crying baby who apparently was waiting to grab the nipple of his mother’s breast for  milk,  by his left arm.

Rather than getting the expected milk, Henry as gathered, landed a metal right on  Ebuka’s head, thereby prompting  him to let out a shrill cry, which forced out some excreta. As if the pains were not excruciating  enough for the fragile baby, his father whom many concluded was possessed by a demon, landed the metal again  on his head.

This time around, instead  of  crying, there was dead silence, which sent the hapless Ebuka  to  the land of no return, with his remains  buried a few days later.

News of my son’s death shattered me

All through her stay in the hospital, Mercy was made to believe that her son was in good condition of health.  Thus, when she was discharged, she yearned to see Ebuka . But no body could tell her the true position of things until she visited  Ago  Police division, where the case was earlier  incidented, only to be consoled by one of the policemen who was oblivious of the development.

“ Initially, I did not get what the policeman was trying to say. But after a while, I discovered it had to do with my son Ebuka. I broke down in tears, without knowing what to do. I kept asking why Henry would kill an innocent child over nothing?  I was shattered by the news of my son’s death. “Oh! My son died without being allowed to have the last suck of my breast milk.

The last memory I have of him was when he woke up crying. How callous! He was the reason for my hanging on in the marriage because I never wanted to have a broken home. Had he been alive, he would have been my only consolation”, she stated amidst tears.

I forgive my husband but…

Asked if she would accept her husband back if he comes  begging, Mercy winked and smiled at the same time, saying: “ I have forgiven him no doubt. But I will never go back to him. I learnt he is in Ikoyi prison  awaiting trial. I was told he called his younger sister and asked if I was okay and even told  her to give me the phone so he could speak with me. I tried the number once but it rang without response.

My mind is made up. The only thing that would have made me have a re-think is my son. But since he is no more, nothing is worth my staying back.

Mercy Nnadi after the attack

That was not the first time he would beat me. I have always complained to my father-in-law about his batterings and he had  always cautioned him. At a point, he warned his father to stop interfering in his family matter and  further told him to stop coming to our house. He also stopped me from going to his father’s house, warning that he would break my leg if I disobeyed him.”

My neighbors fled on sighting me

In order to make do her threat of leaving Henry , Mercy  visited number 3 Lambe street, in Ago-Okota, which used to  be her matrimonial home, to move her belongings. But a mild drama unfolded as those who recognized her  took to their heels, apparently thinking it was her ghost.

“ I was shocked at first. But I was later made to understand  that news went round that I was dead. They later came around to thank God with me.  As I was leaving with my belongings, I bid farewell to  what used to be home ”.

At this point, she wept profusely, on remembering how her son used to crawl on the veranda of the building. After satisfying her emotions, she expressed gratitude to God for at least  sparing her life and giving her a second chance . ”Even though I know that the death of my son  has left a vacuum that will never be replaced in my life, I am still grateful to God for granting me the privilege of being alive”.

“That I am alive today  is by the grace of God and  help from good Nigerians. My appreciation first and foremost goes to you, Vanguard. I learnt your first publication attracted well meaning Nigerians to New Evolution Hospital where I spent three months. These Nigerians whom I  never knew  from Adam,  had compassion  on me and donated money for my treatment.

Even the first lady of  Akwa-Ibom state came to my rescue by paying over 300,000  for my treatment and feeding. Ah! Can you imagine, a nobody like me gaining such recognition, Isn’t God wonderful? I also want to appreciate other media houses which toed  Vanguard’s path. My sincere gratitude goes to the management team of New Evolution Hospital who managed the situation when I was rushed in , until I was transferred to  government hospital.

I really did not know when I was taken there. Even when I regained consciousness, I could  not bath and clean myself. The nurses  were there for me. What more can I say about my father in-law , his wife and daughter, they were by my side all through.

My appreciation will be incomplete if I fail to mention the three  NGOs that gave voice to my cry. They went as far as involving the Lagos  state government and in the process, offset  my outstanding bills at New Evolution hospital and even gave me shelter at Ipaja before I was given an accommodation in Agege. From the donations they got from members of the public,  I was given the sum of N150,000 to start life afresh”

Again, she paused, fiddled with her nails and by the time she looked up , it was obvious she was fighting hard  to hold back the tears. But she could not as they trickled down her cheeks . And in an emotion- laden voice, she said, “ I wish my son was alive, then my joy would have been complete. I honestly wished I was given the accommodation money , I would have relocated back to my village because I  do not want anything that would remind me of the death of my first experience  of motherhood”  .

Speaking on behalf of the NGOs during the formal rehabilitation of Mercy at the conference room of the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation WAPA, Alausa, Lagos, the Executive Director, Project Alert on Violence Against Women , Josephine Effah-Chukwuma, said, “ We sought to help Mercy pay her steadily mounting hospital bills, and rehabilitate her. We are proud to say we have been able to accomplish all these,  along with some funds for her to start life afresh”.

Man jailed 7yrs for defiling 12-yr-old daughter

Benin— A Benin Chief Magistrate’s Court has sentenced a 47-year-old father, Godwin Allu, to seven years imprisonment with hard labour for having unlawful carnal knowledge of his 12-year-old daughter.

Allu was accused of sleeping with his daughter on Nov. 20, at 19 Omono Street, off Stadium road, Benin City.
The offence is punishable under section 208 of the Criminal Code cap 48 Vol .11 of the defunct Bendel State of Nigeria, 1976, which is applicable to Edo.

The little girl had testified that her father had unlawful carnal knowledge of her three times at different occasions.
The victim, who had blood stains on her uniform, informed her headmistress at Obaseki Primary School, Benin of the incident.

The headmistress later reported the case at the Airport Police Station, also in Benin.

When he was arraigned before the court, the accused admitted committing the crime and pleaded for leniency.

Delivering judgment,  yesterday, the Chief Magistrate, Mr. Peter Obaseki, described the crime as bestial for which the accused deserved no mercy.

He said, “That the accused had carnal knowledge with a 12-year-old child on three separate occasions is bad enough.
“It is heart rendering that he was doing it with his own daughter, who even had blood stains on her uniform on the day this incest was reported.

“The case of sexual offence in this jurisdiction is not only increasing, but that of parents defiling their own daughters is also becoming common knowledge,” the Magistrate said.
Obaseki said, “it is necessary that the court join other stakeholders in taking a serious stand in order to wipe out this monster before the society’s moral fabric is completely destroyed.

’‘For this reason, the convict must be put out of circulation for sometime so that he would not be able to continue with his bestial activities.
’‘It is my prayer that God will forgive and change him for the better while in prison.
’‘In the circumstance, the convict is sentenced to seven years imprisonment with hard labour. There shall be no option of fine.”
The court also ordered the victim be taken to an orphanage for care and protection.

Meanwhile, a Benin High Court has struck out a case of murder against one Suraji Aminu.

Justice Stephen Omonua struck out the case after listening to the submission of Mr  Eddy-Omai Inenevwo, counsel to Aminu.

The counsel had told the court that though the suspect was alleged to have committed the offence in 2010 on charge B/140/C/2010, the prosecution refused to call witnesses in the case.

Inenevwo, who is also the Edo Coordinator of the Legal Aid Council, said that since the prosecution was not ready to call witnesses and the suspect was languishing in prison custody, he should be released.

“It amounted to travesty of justice and the court should strike out the matter,” he said.

Omonua agreed with the submission of Inenevwo and struck out the case for lack of diligent prosecution.

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/man-jailed-7yrs-for-defiling-12-yr-old-daughter/

My son did not kill his wife – Arowolo Snr

…Says only 3 wounds were inflicted on deceased banker

BY ABDULWAHAB ABDULAH, ONOZURE DANIA & MICHAEL. OLADEPO

LAGOS — Akolade Arowolo, the man accused of killing his banker wife, Titilayo Omozoje yesterday opened his defence with his witness,  Mudashiru Aroon telling an Ikeja High Court that the deceased only had three wounds on her body.

The disclosure by the witness before Justice Lateefa Okunnu, contradicted the evidence given by Prof. John Obafunwa, Chief Pathologist at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital who testified that the deceased had 76 stab wounds on her body on examination.

Akolade was arraigned on one count charge of murder at their home at Isolo on June 24, 2011.
The witness who was said to be the father of the defendant, told the court that he was shocked  to read in the newspaper that the deceased had 76 stab wounds on her body.

Under cross examination by the Lagos State Director of Public Prosecution, Mrs. Olabisi Ogungbesan, the witness maintained that he only saw three wounds on the left part of her (Titilayo’s)chest.

When told that a prosecution witnesses claimed seeing  many wounds on the body of the deceased, he insisted that he only saw three wounds on the left part of her chest.

He, however, admitted that he said in one of his statements that he did ask  why his son could have killed his daughter-in-law.

Under re-examination by his lawyer,  Olanrewaju Ajanaku, he said that the statement was a mere response to the question of the IPO who asked how the defendant could have killed his wife.

He had testified earlier  that Arowolo had wou- nds on his palm, a confirmation that he was trying to wrest a knife from his wife. He said that he discovered some 20 wounds on the body of his son.

The witness confessed that the couple had been having quarrels, but that Akolade was never violent.

‘ Cases of rape rise to 84% in Nigeria’

CASES of rape have gone up from 12.5 per cent to 84 per cent in Nigeria.

Revealing this on Thursday, in Ibadan, Dr (Mrs) Omolara Smith, President, Zonta Club II, Ibadan, said violence against women had become more rampant and called on the government to enact appropriate laws to serve as deterrence to culprits.

Smith, who was addressing journalists on activities organised by Zonta Club to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Gender-Based Violence, said, “violence against women and children in Nigeria has challenged us to act in solidarity to promote and end violence against women and girls. Over the years, cases of rape and other violence against women have been on the increase. It is our view that this can only be reduced or eradicated with proper legislation and stiff penalty.”

Smith, who disclosed that the global theme of the international day was “From peace in the home to peace in the world,” added that violence against women was something that should be abhorred by everyone in the society.  

According to the Zonta boss, “Violence can lead to extreme physical, mental and psychological condition or even death, it can take place domestically, in the public or as part of community conflicts.”  

While advising women and girls to be wary of the company they kept, Dr Smith said, “Women are more likely to be victimised by someone they are intimate with.”  

The Zonta president revealed that the activities earmarked by the organisation to sensitise members of the public against victimising women and girls would span 16 days.

Source: http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/51719--cases-of-rape-rise-to-84-in-nigeria-

85 year old man nabbed for defiling 12 year old girl

BY GBENGA ARIYIBI

ADO-EKITI — An 85-year old man, Pa  Samuel Oladipupo, was nabbed by the men of Ekiti State Police Command for allegedly defiling a 12 year old girl (names withheld)

The octogenarian  suspect, however, confessed to have made an attempt to make love with the girl, but  denied  ever having carnal  knowledge  of Junior Secondary School girl.

The suspect who allegedly committed the crime last Sunday  at his No. 9 Barrack Road, Ado Ekiti and now being detained at the police headquarters, claimed that the junior secondary school girl had  seduced him  into making love with her.

Father of the girl, Mr. Ojo Ajijola, however, countered the claim of the suspect.

The Police image maker,  Victor  Babayemi  Olu, an Assistant Super- intendent of Police, said the victim had been taken  to Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado Ekiti, where series of tests were  conducted on her to ascertain whether she was actually raped or not.

Speaking under interrogation, Pa Oladipupo  said  he had sent  Esther to buy  recharge card at a nearby phone booth on that fateful day and allowed her to go home after she helped him to load it.

“To let you know that I never  intended to commit the crime, after she had  helped me load  the  recharge card on my phone right in my house, I allowed her to go without making any overture.

“But later, Esther resurfaced and came to tell me that she was famished and ask me what kind of food I had at home. I told her I only had bread and stew and she followed me inside and ate the food.

“After she finished with the food, she rested on the chair and then pulled off her clothes and told me to examine her  pubic hairs. Later, she told me to examine her boobs and asked me why the two breasts were not the same, but I told  her  that it was natural to be so.

“As a man, I began to lose control. I then pushed her onto the bed and climbed  on her.

But as I was about inserting my penis into her vagina, I quickly remembered that this might  be a plan to frame me and I quickly stood up, so I didn’t enter her”, Pa Oladipupo explained.

But the girl denied ever  seducing the old man. She said that the man first accused her of stealing his phone, but when he found it in his house, he began fondling with her.

“I had earlier helped him to buy a recharge card, and he later accused  me of stealing his phone,”she said.

Source: http://www.vanguardngr.com/2012/11/85-year-old-man-nabbed-for-defiling-12-year-old-girl/

‘How my daughter’s fiancé bathed her with acid’

The motive behind the acid bath of 22-year-old Chika Egbo by her estranged lover, David Sulaimon, remains elusive, but one thing is sure, the victim may not remain the same again.

Chika is a student of the Enugu State College of Education.

Last Tuesday, when our correspondent visited her at the Burns Unit of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, Egbo has become a shadow of the beautiful girl she was. The substance Sulaimon allegedly poured on her had destroyed every visible skin from her chest upwards.

She mumbled to her father, a Taraba State-based businessman, as she could neither see nor speak properly at the time.

When her father, Matthew Egbo, narrated the incident that led to Chika’s state, the story brought tears to his eyes as he lamented that his daughter would never be normal again.

Matthew said, “In March 2011, someone who identified himself as Lekan Sulaimon called me, asking for my daughter’s hand in marriage. We talked a lot and I promised to speak with Chika on the issue.

“My daughter later told me he was the boy she was in love with and said she had resolved to marry him.”

After much discussion, Matthew told Sulaimon to bring his parents for proper introduction, but the suitor said his father was ill and needed to be taken abroad for treatment. He also said his mother was abroad.

Matthew said, “On the June 25 date that we agreed on, Sulaimon brought seven men and four women dressed in Yoruba attire to my hometown, Enugu, where we held the introduction.

“But around November last year, my wife travelled from Taraba to Enugu and Chika told her she was pregnant.”

According to Matthew, Chika told her parents they should not be alarmed since she and Sulaiman had agreed to get married.

Chika was instructed to go to Lagos and tell Sulaiman’s relations about the pregnancy.

But when she got back from Lagos, Chika told her father that she discovered that most of what Sulaiman had told her about his parents were lies.

Matthew explained, “For instance, Chika discovered that Sulaimon’s father was hale and hearty. The father told her he was not aware of any plans by his son to get married.

“She also learnt that the mother was not abroad too. She visited her and she told us the woman received her well and even expressed joy that his son had found someone to marry.

“But after the visit, we heard nothing from neither Sulaimon nor his parents until after my daughter gave birth to a baby girl on May 4.

Our correspondent learnt that Chika had broached the idea of abortion to her parents, as she told them it was apparent that the man she was in love with had lied to her all along.

Matthew forbade her to consider abortion. After the baby was born, Chika was said to have informed Sulaimon, but he gave series of excuses why he could not visit her.

He reportedly told her he was facing some challenges and did not have the wherewithal to take care of the baby at the moment.

After a few months, Chika’s baby girl was weaned and taken to Taraba to live with Matthew and his wife.

The Egbos said they took the decision to take the baby off their daughter’s hands so that she could continue her study.

PUNCH Metro learnt that in November, Sulaimon began to request that he needed to see his baby, but Matthew told him to bring his parents to come and iron things out.

Chika was said to have insisted she did not want to have anything to do with the young man anymore.

But on November 5, Chika travelled to Lagos after Sulaimon had informed her that his mother wanted to see her. The unsuspecting girl left Enugu without informing her parents.

“My phone just rang that day and I was told to come to Lagos because a young man had poured acid on my daughter,” Chika’s father said.

Matthew said the message came as  a rude shock since he was not aware his daughter went to Lagos. He explained that the police were the ones who got his number from her phone.

He said,“What I learnt was that when she arrived Igando, Lagos, Sulaimon met her and she demanded that he should take her to his mother who wanted to see her.

“What we gathered from the little she could mumble to us was that Sulaimon went behind a house and as they were about to pick an okada to his mother’s house, he brought out a polythene.

“But when they stopped at a point and Chika thought they were going to proceed to his mother’s house, he just opened a container in the polythene he was carrying and emptied its content on her head.

“She told us when she realised that what Sulaimon poured on her had began eating into her skin, she raised the alarm and called for help.”

PUNCH Metro learnt that passersby and sympathisers, who had been alerted to the young woman’s plight, pursued the fleeing Sulaimon. He was caught and taken to Ikotun Police Station.

 “Till now, I still don’t know why he did what he did,” Matthew said.

Divisional Police Officer of Ikotun, Mr. Augustin Akika, confirmed the incident, but said the suspect had been transferred to the state Criminal Investigations Department, Yaba.

Source: PUNCH

Man rapes 5-yr-old girl in Osun

Written by Oluwole Ige, OsogboMonday, 26 November 2012

A middle-aged man, names withheld, has been apprehended by the police for allegedly defiling a five-year-old girl in Osogbo, Osun State.

Nigerian Tribune  gathered that the suspect allegedly raped the girl around 6:30a.m. near Salvation Army Primary School, Oke-Fia area of the city at the weekend.

According to the mother of the girl,  Romoke, she left the girl in the room and went to the other building to fetch water while her daughter was still asleep.

Narrating her ordeal, the mother of the victim said before she could return to the house, the suspect had sneaked into her room and had carnal knowledge of her little daughter.

When she returned to her room and caught the suspect raping the girl, she raised the alarm, a development which attracted other neighbours, who intervened and assisted in apprehending the suspect.

The act was later reported to the police and the little girl was taken to Osun State Police command clinic for medical attention.

Confirming the development to newsmen, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, DSP Folasade Odoro, said that the minor was receiving medical treatment and that investigation was already on over the incident, while she urged parents to always ensure security of their children in the state.

source http://tribune.com.ng/index.php/news/51444-man-rapes-5-yr-old-girl-in-osun

Policeman In Detention Over Alleged Rape In Imo

A police corporal, Chigozie Odenigbo is said to be presently in detention at the Police Command, Owerri, for allegedly raping a nursing mother, Mrs Maureen Anya Lebechi, recently.

The woman who revealed her encounter with the police corporal, said that she was stranded after searching unsuccessfully for the residence of a relation at Umuguma in Owerri Local Government Area of Imo State and had stopped by at the nearest police post in the area to take shelter as it was already late into the night.

According to her, while at the station, Corporal Odenigbo offered to take her to a building owned by a fellow retired police officer. Not suspecting any bad  intentions,  she followed him.

She said that on their way to the supposed retired police officer’s residence, the corporal stopped abruptly  along a bush path and ordered her to remove her clothes. When she refused, she said that the corporal pounced on her, beating her and threatening her with his gun before having his way.

The state police commissioner, Adisa Bolanta, has assured that justice would prevail if the officer was guilty of the allegation.

The state Police Public Relation Officer, Vitalis Onugu , who confirmed  the incident  said that an “orderly room trial “ of the police officer had begun, adding that if the officer was guilty of the allegation,  he would be made to face the law.

Source http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/40615/2012/11/21/policeman_detention_over_alleged_rape_imo.html

Man, 30, Rapes 14-Month-Old Niece

It was another shocking sight at a residence in Jikwoyi, an Abuja suburb, where a man who simply gave his name as Mr. Peters, disclosed at the weekend, that his 30 year old younger brother raped his 14 months old daughter.

According to sources, the mother of the child normally leaves the baby, name (withheld) with her husband’s younger brother, Steve (not real name) who currently stays with them any time she goes to the market.

Steve, it was gathered, came to Abuja in search of greener pastures and has been living with his elder brother for about six months now searching for a job.

When LEADERSHIP visited the family’s residence, the victim’s mother who was simply identified as Mama Rose, told our reporters that she could not describe the pain in her heart.

The woman who broke down in tears as she narrated the ordeal of her daughter, said: “On that fateful day, I left my baby with her uncle as I usually do when I go to the market to get some things. I got back home, prepared our dinner and fed my baby. After feeding her, I decided to bath her. When I was washing her bottom she cried profusely. I was confused; I didn’t know why she was crying like that.

‘’When my husband came back, I told him about it and we took her to the hospital where it was confirmed she has been raped. Since I know I leave her with her uncle anytime I am going out, I confronted my husband’s younger brother who denied at first. But when the family intervened, he confessed to the act.’’

A neighbour who craved anonymity told LEADERSHIP that she suspected something was wrong when she heard the baby crying profusely on that fateful day. She said she went in to see what was wrong but Steve told her to mind her business.

When our reporter sought to know from Steve why he would indulge in such act, he declined to comment.

As at the time of filling the report, the matter was yet to be reported to the police as it was being treated as a family matter.

http://leadership.ng/nga/articles/40457/2012/11/19/man_30_rapes_14monthold_niece.html

NGOs Care and Support for Mercy Nnadi: Domestic Violence Burns Victim, 6 Months After.

Mercy Nnadi, the woman who was burnt severely with a hot iron by her husband early this year, was yesterday fully rehabilitated by the three NGOs who took the lead in seeking funds for her medical treatment and rehabilitation thereafter. The NGOs, Project Alert on Violence Against Women, Centa for Organizational Development (COD) and Zahara Women, had on hearing about the unfortunate incident, come together to set up an appeal fund, to help Mercy. The NGOs drew the attention of the Lagos State Government to the case, and the government, through the Ministry of Women Affairs and Poverty Alleviation, immediately swung into action.

This resulted in the Ministry helping to upset Mercy's medical bills substantially. They paid the sum of N830,000; took Mercy away from the private hospital she was in at Okota; and got her admitted into Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, from where she was discharged and taken to the state government owned shelter for abused women and young girls.

While Mercy stayed on at the shelter, the NGOs on their part continued to raise funds for Mercy's rehabilitation. The result of this fund raising efforts by these NGOs paid off yesterday, as they handed Mercy the keys to a one room apartment they got and furnished for her; along with a cheque of N150,000 to be used by her to start a small scale business, that will sustain her.

Woman in Lagos boils stepdaughter’s hands, says 2-year-old dipped her hands in hot water

Though she's claiming the little girl mistakenly put her hands in hot water. Culled from Sunnews Online. See it below...

Residents of Langbasa, a community in Ajah area of Lagos, are accusing a woman in the neighbourhood of causing a grievous harm on her two-year-old stepdaughter. Kehinde, as she’s known, is in trouble for allegedly dipping the two hands of her little stepdaughter, Esther, into oven-hot water.

The girl’s hands were boiled terribly, and many are raising concern that one of them might have become utterly useless. Esther, it was gathered, lost her own mum about a year ago a few days after her first birthday. The poor little girl has since been living with her father, known among residents of the area as Baba Eleja. Baba Eleja, Esther’s dad, later brought in Kehinde, a mother of three, as his wife. He put Esther in the care of his new wife, Kehinde.

Trouble started for the woman on Wednesday, October 31. She wasn’t feeling good and invited a nurse to prescribe drugs for her. It was the nurse that noticed Esther’s boiled hands. The nurse also realised that the little girl was very unhealthy. She sought to know what was responsible for the little girl’s condition and Kehinde allegedly explained that the girl mistakenly put her hands inside a bucket of hot water in the room. Obviously not satisfied with that explanation, the nurse went to inform Kehinde’s neighbours about the strange development.

Many of the neighbours, who had all along suspected that all was not well with little Esther as Kehinde was always beating her, rushed to the room to see the girl. One of the neighbours, who described himself as her father’s kinsman, spoke to the reporter. His words: “When we saw Esther, lying on the floor with her boiled hands, we were moved to tears. We feared that the poor girl might die any moment from then.

We quickly made efforts to rush her to the hospital for treatment. I don’t think Esther was the one that dipped her own hands in the hot water. In fact, if you see that damage done on those hands, you would know that somebody must have dipped those hands in some boiling water. The hands were boiled to the wrist. Even that poor girl wouldn’t be able to use one of the hands again.” Another resident of the area, a woman, said Kehinde never spared the cane on the little girl.

“She is always beating the girl with canes. You can even see scars of the wounds that her canes inflicted on the girl’s body. Since we noticed what happened to Esther, we have moved her away from the woman. Earlier today, when the girl saw her stepmother, she was so terrified that she cried and ran away. That shows she (Kehinde) has been wicked to her. I advise the relatives of the girl’s mother to take her away from her father so that something more terrible than this doesn’t happen to her,” she told the reporter.

When Daily Sun sought to speak with Kehinde in her husband’s one room apartment in Olugbe compound in the community, her husband as well as some of her relatives wanted to prevent the encounter, saying they didn’t want the family’s dirty linen washed in public. Explanations by the reporter that since the matter had gone to the police, it had already gone beyond their private domain, did little to persuade the angry relatives. In fact, at a point, Baba Eleja got angry and rushed to the nearby Langbasa police post where he reported the “intruding” journalist.

Meanwhile, other relatives as well as the landlord of the apartment granted audience to the reporter and urged Kehinde to grant an interview. In the course of the interview, Baba Eleja suddenly materialised with a policeman in tow, apparently to get the ‘busybody’ arrested. But as soon as the police officer discovered the reporter’s identity, he asked the journalist to continue his job. He advised the enraged husband to cooperate with him. Amidst verbal invectives being hurled at her by neighbours and some relatives, who believed she did dip Esther’s hands into a pot of steaming water, Kehinde told the reporter her story: “It happened a few weeks ago.

That morning, I noticed that Esther was looking very dull. So, I asked her to come to me and I gave her a potty for her to urinate into. I discovered that the urine was black, which showed that she was sick. So, I didn’t allow her to go to school. That day, I was also bleeding because I just had a miscarriage. After a while, I kept a bowl of very hot water that I wanted to use on myself beside our bed and rushed out to the kitchen. Suddenly, I heard Esther’s piercing cry and I rushed back into the room only to see her struggling with the bowl of hot water.

By the time I could rescue her, she already boiled her two hands. I thought she wanted to drink water because she was eating the rice that I cooked for her and my own children before I left the room. I quickly went to borrow N100 from a neighbour with which I bought some balm that I applied on the hands. I also gave her some drugs for her fever and she soon slept off. “When her father returned from work in the night and noticed what happened to her, he beat the hell out of me, in spite of my condition. It took the intervention of our landlord before he left me.

Since then, Esther has been staying with me at home. She has not been going to school and I’ve been doing my best to treat her. “But a few days ago, I invited a nurse, who is also a neighbour to attend to me. As a result of the miscarriage, I have been feeling very weak and I have lost a lot of blood. The nurse came and I was lying on the bed. Esther was resting on a mattress close to the bed.

The nurse came to attend to me but when she saw Esther, she looked worried and asked what happened to her. When I explained, she asked why we didn’t take her to hospital yet and I said I didn’t have the money and that I was expecting that Esther’s father would do that. “The nurse promptly attended to me and hurriedly left after examining Esther’s boiled hands for two or three times. It wasn’t long after she left that a crowd of neighbours broke into our room to see Esther.

They soon pounced on me and started beating me. It took the intervention of policemen, who were invited by some of them, to rescue me from the mob. I would have been lynched. They thought that I deliberately dipped her hands into boiling water. I didn’t do that at all. I have always been taking care of Esther as if I were her mother. Even people call me Mama Esther because of the way I treat her. I couldn’t have done such a terrible thing to her.”

http://dailypost.com.ng/2012/11/08/woman-lagos-boils-stepdaughters-hands-says-2-year-old-dipped-hands-hot-water/

20-Year-Old Houseboy Defiles Employer's 6-Year-Old Daughter!

The family of Mr. and Mrs. Michael Dopemu residents of Surulere, Lagos, southwest Nigeria, must be regretting their action when they employed a 20-year old boy, Obong Thompson as their houseboy. Reason: Thompson recently defiled their six-year old girl while the parents were away to their offices.

How can any mother leave her 6 year old child alone with a houseboy? Continue reading...

 
PM News investigation revealed that while the girl’s parents were away at work, the houseboy allegedly grabbed his boss’ six-year old daughter (name withheld) pulled off her clothes and had carnal knowledge of her.

When Mr. and Mrs. Dopemu returned from work, they noticed their daughter’s unusual mood. They later discovered blood in her private part.

The matter was reported to the police at Bode Thomas Divisional Headquarters. Thompson was arrested and investigated.

In his confessional statement, the suspect allegedly wrote: “When both of us were at home alone, I saw her body naked. I was charged and emotionally carried away.

He was arraigned before a family court sitting at Tinubu, Lagos Island.

Source: PM News

Ex-councillor stabs teenager for refusing advances

NOVEMBER 2, 2012 BY KUNLE FALAYI 120 COMMENTS

A former councillor of Amuwo-Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, Onimole Babatunde, is currently being detained at the Area E Police Command, Festac, Lagos for allegedly stabbing an 18-year-old girl in the neck after she refused his advances at a night club.

PUNCH Metro learnt that on October 26, Mariam Abubakar went to Pearl Habour Night Club in Rochester Garden Hotel, Festac to “catch weekend fun.”

Her friend, who pleaded anonymity, said they only went there “to hang out” when Babatunde, who was obviously drunk, started to make advances to Abubakar.

She said, “She was not interested in him so she did not answer when he called her. He was dancing and Mariam (Abubakar) was sitting at a table. He was obviously drunk and he came to pull her.

“He was manhandling her and she insisted he should leave her alone. This did not go down well with Babatunde and he was really angry. He went to a corner, took a bottle, broke it and stabbed Mariam in the neck.”

According to the source, Babatunde fled the scene immediately.

A police source at Area E told our correspondent that the preliminary report obtained indicated that the incident occurred at about 1:30am.

He said Abubakar bled profusely at the scene before she was taken to Naval Hospital, Ojo by sympathisers at the night club.

The source said she was not admitted because those who took her there could not produce a police report.

“That was when someone notified our station (Area E Command) and we went to take her to Ajeromi General Hospital,” he said.

It was learnt that as Abubakar was being taken to the general hospital, she went into a coma.

She was said to have been revived at the general hospital. A nurse at the hospital, who craved anonymity, told our correspondent that she had lost about 20 per cent of her blood.

Abubakar is currently under intensive care at the hospital.

However, the police said the night club workers destroyed evidence at the scene of the alleged crime by cleaning up Abubakar’s blood on the floor.

The hotel has currently been sealed off by the police because the management did not report the incident.

It was learnt that the police got wind of Babatunde’s whereabouts, said to be holing up somewhere in Ikoyi and called him to simply come and write a statement. But he was detained immediately he got to the station.

The police spokesperson, Ngozi Braide, said she had not been briefed on the case.

http://www.punchng.com/metro/ex-councillor-stabs-teenager-for-refusing-advances/