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