In
this second part of our story on the life of Bola (13) and Tolu (10),
whose father had been sleeping with for two years until they were
rescued and he was apprehended in July 2013; and Susan (19), who
allegedly had two children for her pastor-father, our correspondent
reports on the multi-dimensional concern about child sexual abuses in
the country and the opinions of stakeholders.
This correspondent obtained the address
of Bola and Tolu’s mother, Kemi, which she had submitted to officials
who took custody of her children following the arrest of her husband in
July.
The address indicates she resides at
Agugu in Ibadan, Oyo State but a visit to the said address showed Kemi
was not living there. The look on the face of a young man who was seen
at house No 25 showed confusion.
“Nobody by that name lives here,” he said
simply. The phone line Kemi had given to officials always indicates
that it is switched off.
Our correspondent could not get Kemi to state why she had not visited her children since their father was arrested.
Alarming increase in child rape
These are perilous times for the Nigerian
girl-child. A sexual predation with a craving for little children
stalks the streets like an invisible monster.
Bola, Tolu and Susan are just three of
the many children who have been sexually abused or raped by their
“primary care givers.” Many more are being raped by strangers or
neighbours.
But the culture of don’t-ask-don’t-tell
in many parts of the country makes it impossible to have an accurate
data on the rate of abuses.
However, once in a while, some victims
summon the courage to speak up as in the case of a seven-year-old
daughter of Sylvester Ehijele, who accused his father of rape in March
2013.
While the girl said her 49-year-old
father had sex with her on a daily basis whenever her mother was not at
home, the mother, Margaret, accused Sylvester of raping their
23-year-old daughter when she was much younger. The man did not stop
there, he also allegedly defiled his one-year-old granddaughter.
This correspondent went in search of the
family in Ejigbo area of Lagos to find out how the family dealt with the
issue after the man’s arrest. But neighbours said the family had since
relocated to their village, perhaps to escape stigmatisation. No one
knew their address.
A Consultant in Child and Adolescent
Psychiatry, Federal Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Lagos, Dr. Mashidat
Mojeed-Bello, said in cases she had seen, only few victims summoned the
courage to disclose the unpleasant event.
A sociologist, Mr. Monday Ahibogwu, said
his studies suggest that rape cases are usually brought to the knowledge
of authorities by third parties as is the case in that of Bola, Tolu
and Susan.
A lot of recent reports have suggested that very young children are increasingly being sexually abused in the country.
The Director of the Esther Child Rights
Foundation, Mrs. Esther Ogwu, whose foundation has handled many of such
cases in the last five years of her operation, said in March, she was
alerted to a case in which the young uncle of a four-month-old girl
raped her through the anus.
“The girl’s anus tore to the extent that
the doctors laboured so hard to repair it. The toddler suffered so
much. The culprit ran away and his brother, who is the father of the
victim, accused his wife of cooking up the allegation against his kin.
The woman eventually left Lagos for her village in shame. I don’t know
if the baby survived,” she said.
Just this month, the Ogun State Police Command arrested 26-year-old Kehinde Adejuwon, for allegedly raping a two-year-old girl.
In Ekiti State, within the same month, a
19-year-old man was arrested in Ado-Ekiti for raping the three-year-old
daughter of his neighbour.
Also in December, a 12-year-old boy was
arraigned before an Ikeja Magistrate’s Court, Lagos for indulging in
“forced intercourse” with the three-year-old daughter of a neighbour.
The magistrate ordered the arrest of the boy’s parents.
Seventy-one-year-old hunter, Ganiyu
Kolawole, was also arrested by the officers of the Nigerian Security and
Civil Defence Corps in Ondo State for luring a seven-year-old girl with
a biscuit and raping her.
Executive Secretary, Children’s
Anti-Corruption Initiative, a non-governmental organisation concerned
with the protection of children, Mr. Omololu Akinwande, believes the
underlying reason for the ‘epidemic’ of child sexual abuses in the
country is craze for quick wealth.
Akinwande said, “We have investigated
many cases of child sexual abuse and we have come to the conclusion that
the reason for the increase is the quest for money.
“Ordinarily, one would have thought that
sexual desire is the underlying reason why many would rape children or
sleep with little children. It is more than that. This kind of behaviour
is done for money rituals.
“Unfortunately, religious organisations
are also promoting the craze for wealth in the society as well. Our
study reveals that child sexual abuse increased this year. But by our
estimates, only one per cent of the total of incidents is reported.”
However, it seems the alarming increase in rape cases is getting the attention of law makers in the country.
Chris Anyanwu, a senator Imo State,
sponsored a sexual offences bill, which prescribes life imprisonment for
rapists few months ago. It passed second reading at the senate in
November.
“The children and young people of this
country, both male and female, today face a growing danger as they are
being routinely targeted by sexual predators and paedophiles,,” Anyanwu
had said in her argument.
What the law says
Section 31 (1) of Nigeria’s Child Rights Act, 2003, states, “No person shall have intercourse with a child.”
Subsection two goes on to say that, “A
person, who contravenes the provision of Subsection one commits an
offence of rape and is liable on conviction to imprisonment for life.”
If it is any other form of sexual abuse
or exploitation as different from intercourse, the act prescribes an
imprisonment of 14 years upon conviction.
The Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011,
for instance, seems to be in agreement with the CRA on this. Chapter 137
states, “Any person who has sexual intercourse with a child is guilty
of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for life.”
Unfortunately, there have been few
successful convictions of rapists and culprits of sexual abuses in line
with the provision of these laws.
A prosecutor with the Lagos State
Judiciary, Mr. Chinalu Uwadione, said the difficulty in prosecuting rape
cases was as a result of the ignorance of the victims and their
families.
“We find it difficult to prosecute such
cases because many victims who even summon the courage to report the
crime, refuse to come back to follow up the case. Families prevail on
them to forget about the case for the preservation of their dignity.
“Some victims also destroy the material
evidence that can help such cases. Some take their bath before reporting
the case and make it impossible to prove rape.”
A senior Lagos lawyer, Mr. Malachy
Ugwummadu , is of the opinion that even though there is no mention of
incest in the criminal laws of some states like Lagos, the ambit of the
provisions of the Child Rights Act adequately takes care of such
abhorrent acts.
Ugwummadu said, “The CRA does not draw a
distinction between whether the children are violated by strangers or by
the parents. The CRA covers both cases. The law is sufficiently
elaborate so far as what is in the picture is a child.
“It is not even African for one to sleep
with his own child. The leniency that could be argued in favour of a
stranger cannot work for the father in the circumstance of our own
setting. Even in foreign lands among people, who don’t have culture as
deeply rooted as ours, it is unnatural and unpardonable to sleep with
one’s child.
“The old Criminal Code, Cap 42, Section
357, defines assault on females, indecent assault on females, abduction
of girl under 15. The point is that there is no incest but the general
offences against female is wide enough to accommodate incest. Those
provisions do not exclude incest.”
The lawyer explained that the police
prosecutorial shoddiness is partly to blame for the unsuccessful
prosecution of many rape cases.
He said, “We must not forget the cultural
inhibitions associated with child abuse. It cannot be separated from
the general stigma of rape. You hardly find a situation where the
perpetrators are caught in the act. More often than not, the
perpetrators are found when the victims summon the courage to report the
crime. The general stigma associated with rape and sexual attacks on
female and children imposes an additional duty on the police to go
beyond the mere report of such offences.
“Quite a number of police formations
trivialise such child sexual abuse cases and admonish the parents to
forget about the matter so as not to expose the girl to stigma.
Sometimes, they begin to wonder why the girl became the victim. The
paucity of evidence, given the nature of the crime, affects these
situations.
“The CRA has come with a huge revolution.
What should interest any person regarding the seriousness that is
attached to this law is first to note that it derives from the
Constitution. Also, now, children can even institute a class action, not
just against their parents but against government.”
The spokesperson of the Ogun State Police
Command, Mr. Muyiwa Adejobi, agreed that the police at the counter of
some formations lack the training to professionally handle sexual abuse
cases.
He said the Inspector-General of Police had recently made effort to revitalise the unit handling such cases in police stations.
A culture of silence and no prosecution
Hardly do rape cases end up in the conviction of culprits.
Adejobi, who identified a number of
reasons why sexual assaults generally have been difficult to prosecute,
said, “It is very rare to see victims or their relations supporting
prosecutions. Sometimes, the police charge the case to court but look
stupid before the judge because the victim refuses to show up.
“For instance, recently we had a case of a
woman coming to us to report that her husband had been sleeping with
his own biological daughter. We charged the man to court. But the mother
has been calling me on daily basis pleading that we should release him
because she did not know we were going to take it that far.
“She went as far as filing a motion in
court that they were not interested in the case anymore. She even
brainwashed the victim that she wanted to destroy her father’s life.
“Don’t forget that when you talk about
rape cases, timely medical examination of the victim is key. If you
cannot tender medical report that there was carnal knowledge or
ejaculation, there is no way one can prove rape.
“There was a time rape cases were so many
that I had to go on the radio to sensitise the public that the
situation was becoming alarming. We are trying to work on the psyche of
the people.”
Adejobi said in his command, there is an
anti-human trafficking and child labour unit headed by a woman, where
sexual abuse cases are handled.
He explained that the IG had directed
that Juvenile and Women Centres should be headed by women in all
formations to ensure that victims have confidence to report rape cases.
“At charge rooms, some policemen make
jest of the victims because they are men and this makes them
uncomfortable. The IGP has taken note of these things and ordered all
cases of rape, sexual assault and child labour should be referred to JWC
and Anti-Human Trafficking and Child Labour Unit for investigation,” he
said.
The social pressure that stands in the
way of prosecution has been a cog in the wheel of successful
prosecution, the police officer said.
Victims’ long way to recovery
The three girls focused on in this quest
were all smiles throughout the encounter the encounter with our
correspondent, though they acknowledged that they were scarred for life.
But on the surface, all appeared to be well. To anyone, nothing is and
could be wrong with them. But Mojeed-Bello had a contrary opinion.
The child psychiatrist told our correspondent that the concern is on the long term effect of their experience on their lives.
She said because the act was perpetrated
by the primary care givers of the victims, they might develop a lot of
immediate and long term effects.
Mojeed-Bello said, “A mark has been put
on such children. They could develop post-traumatic stress disorders by
continuously reliving the memory of the unpleasant event.
“Such victims could develop anxiety and
undue fear. In the long term, they could develop major psychiatric
problems like depression and other major psychosis later in life.
“The self esteem may be affected in such a
way that they may not see themselves worthy of anything good. At some
point, some may develop somatisation disorders; they start having some
unusual bodily symptoms whose origin becomes untraceable through tests.
There is a myriad of psychological impact on such children.”
The psychiatrist explained that some victims grow up to become abusers of young children themselves.
However, a lot of things help victims live normal lives, she said.
According to her, it is not so much about
counselling as a treatment that helps such victims but the system
adopted by the therapist.
“The support given to such victims helps
them in the long term. Caring for them, providing them with shelter,
showing them love is one aspect of it.
“But a group treatment helps a lot.
Talking about what they have experienced in a group is a form of
ventilating the mind. When you have a group of victims with similar
experience, a therapist helps them walk through the difficult past
experiences and gives them alternatives on how to cope with it.”
She said in many cases, it does not help
at all to return the child back to the environment in which she passed
through such experience.
Public wants incestuous fathers castrated
The reaction of the public to the case of
Bola, Tolu and Susan mirror the dire consequences of the act of having
sexual relations with one’s child.
Ahibogwu (the sociologist) said incest erodes the fabric of the society.
According to him, outside religious implications, the negative socio-cultural implications are enormous.
He said, “In the ancient cultures like
Egyptian, Greek and Roman empires, people were made to marry their
sisters so that they would not have their blood polluted by non-family
members.
“But the situation changed when
civilisation realised that what it portends was more dangerous than what
it protected. People killed each other in envy because they had
affections that they could not control for relations.
“The act is abominable across cultures.
In some countries, you are even prosecuted. Some cultures in Nigeria
allow the marriage of cousins while it is abominable in some other
parts.”
The abuse of the children here usually begin in their formative years.
Ahibogwu said that when such abuse starts
when the girl-child has yet to understand the difference between right
and wrong, it reaches a stage that such child willingly goes to the
father for the sexual act as if it is a normal thing.
He said, “It is a breach of confidence in
the father-child relationship. Many seemingly normal people on the
street are not psychologically balanced. Some men do not have the
ability to control their sexual urge which is why they have sexual
relations with children.
“It is not a healthy behaviour for the
society. It is rape; it is child abuse, sexual abuse and breach of
confidence between father and daughter.”
Ogwu is of the opinion that the act has some ritualistic undertone.
“Why did the father of those two young
girls clean them up with a white singlet and took it away after he was
done? One may not be able to prove it, but it is a notion supported by
my findings,” she said.
Incest has always been an abomination in many parts of Nigeria and the feeling of Nigerians has not changed on the issue.
Some members of the public this
correspondent spoke with gave different versions of ‘creative’
punishments for fathers who sleep with their children.
“I don’t see why such a man should still
enjoy the use of a male organ since he has used it in an abominable way.
He should simply be castrated,” 65-year-old retired principal, Mr.
Adeosun Olugbade, said.
A young man, Ayodele Alonge, was in agreement.
“In an ideal situation, castration should
be the first punishment for such devilish fathers. Next
ex-communication, as societies normally would do in the ancient times.
Such person should be taken away for rehabilitation because insanity may
be an issue here,” he said.
Olajide Sonaike shares the same opinion. He said the “grave” offence should be met with an equally grave punishment.
“A father like that is a virus. Guillotine system would not be such a bad idea though,” he said.
Ayodeji Olofintuabo, an employee of the
National Youth Service Corps suggested that raping a child should be
described as “sleeping with a child.”
“It may not be strange in some cultures but anybody caught in Nigeria should be locked away for life,” he said.
Akinwande suggested a death sentence for such fathers.
The CACTI boss said, “Our laws are too
liberal. Do this in China or Saudi Arabia and the culprit will die for
it. Only this method can eradicate this kind of menace in our society.
“Our society seems to be in support of
the problem because when you offer to help or report, they start begging
you. It is unfortunate. The last case of sexual molestation of a
four-year-old girl that we handled, the father blamed us for taking up
the matter.”
A septuagenarian, Pa Joshua Chukwueloka,
who spoke with this correspondent in Ojodu, Lagos, said in Igbo culture,
incest is a very abominable act.
He explained, “When I was young, if
someone did such a thing in my village in Anambra, the person was
treated like a leper. Both the child and the father were exiled. They
were not even allowed into other neighbouring communities because the
news would have spread.
“It is an act that is unheard of but the
quest for money and some devilish spirits make people do it. It is a
very negative act in Igbo culture. A man who sleeps with his own child
should be tied to a truck and dragged around town.”PUNCH
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