The
police in Lagos State have commenced investigation into how a
nine-year-old girl died, after sustaining injuries caused by alleged
consistent rape.
According to police authorities, the
deceased was raped over five times, by a 14-year-old student, Onyi
Adimabua, in the Ikorodu area of the state.
The father of the deceased, Simeon Jigo, told PUNCH Metro that Onyi is the son of the proprietor of the school his daughter attended.
He said his daughter opened up about the rape when she started having medical problems.
The 77-year-old man said his daughter died on October 3, 2013.
He said, “Up until my daughter’s death,
she was a pupil of Fulfilled Greenland School, Ikorodu, and she was in
primary three. One day, she came home and started complaining of pains
around her vagina, stomach area. We rushed her to Ikorodu General
Hospital.
“A doctor checked her and after
conducting some tests on her, told us that my daughter had sustained
medical complications due to forced sexual intercourse. I was alarmed by
this; so, I had a private discussion with my daughter.
“She told me that it was her school
proprietor’s son, Onyi, that had been raping her. The boy had threatened
to kill her if she ever told anyone about it.”
The indigene of Ondo State told PUNCH Metro
that after initial treatments, he took his daughter to Arogbo in Ondo
State to be taken care of but her condition continued to deteriorate.
A few days after the troubled father
travelled to Ondo State, Onyi, accompanied by his parents, also
travelled to Ondo State, to apologise to Jigo’s family. The girl,
however, was said to have died that very day.
“On getting to the house where my
daughter was, we discovered that she was dead. Onyi confessed that he
had been raping my daughter prior to her death,’ Jigo said.
PUNCH Metro learnt that after the girl’s demise, irate youths in the area attempted to lynch the 14-year-old boy.
The bereaved father was said to have
intervened and reported the matter to a nearby police station, where the
teenager was held for safe keeping. The next morning, Onyi and his
parents travelled back to Lagos.
The alleged rapist’s parents, in company
with a chief in Ikorodu, reportedly visited Jigo when he returned to
Lagos. The group were said to have pleaded that the bereaved father
should not pursue the case but he refused.
Jigo said, “I went to the Ikorodu Police
station to report the case but was surprised when the policemen on duty
said I should not write any statement. They only told me to write down
my telephone number and said they would call me later.
“After waiting for many days without any
call, I wrote a petition and the matter was transferred to the State
Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba.”
It was however learnt that Onyi had been taken to his father’s hometown in Delta State thereby stalling police investigation.
The teenager’s parents, however described the incident as the handiwork of the devil.
The 14-year-old boy’s father, Andrew
Adimabua, said, “I trained that boy in the way of the Lord and expected
so much from him. He has confessed to the act; there is nothing to hide.
He told me that he learnt about sex by watching blue (pornographic)
films.
“We are not hiding him and we will
cooperate with the police. On the day the little girl died, he was
beaten up and made to stay in the rain for hours. As a result, he
contracted pneumonia so we sent him home for treatment. When he
recovers, he’ll be taken to the police for questioning.”
Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi
Braide, who confirmed the incident to our correspondent on the
telephone, expressed shock at the development.
Braide said Onyi would be re-arrested in the course of investigation.
“It is appalling that a teenager could
indulge in such act. The matter is under investigation and the culprit
will be re-arrested.”
PUNCH
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