The last may not have been heard of Mr. Danwanu Moses, the aggrieved father whose daughter was allegedly defiled five years ago by her school’s proprietor.
Moses alleged that a Divisional Police Officer said his daughter (the victim) would have enjoyed being raped.
This allegation was contained in a petition written by the father to the Ogun State Commissioner for Education, dated Friday, June 20, 2014 and obtained by our correspondent.
PUNCH Metro had on June 19, 2014, reported that the aggrieved father called for the arrest and prosecution of the school proprietor for allegedly defiling his daughter when she was 11 years old.
The father also explained in the report that the school proprietor took advantage of his closeness to him (the father) to commit the act and that the daughter could not tell anybody because she had been threatened by the school proprietor not to tell anyone.
He accused the police in the petition of failing to live up to their responsibility to protect the girl child from sexual harassment.
Citing a press conference addressed by the Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, on the 2014 International Day of the African Child, the petitioner said, “The Lagos State Deputy Governor, Mrs. Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire, recently called for a collective action to stop all forms of sexual harassment, assault and abuse, particularly rape cases against the girl-child.
“On addressing a press conference on the International Day of the African Child 2014, she stated that parents must not hesitate to report cases of sexual harassment, assault and abuse to the police in order to expose and prosecute the offenders to serve as deterrent to others.”
Expressing his disappointment on how the police handled his complaint about his daughter’s ordeal, he said, “The police will not act to protect girls. Their failure to protect the girl-child, especially in the villages is a disgrace to Nigeria in the eyes of the world.
“I took my daughter to the local police and appealed to them to arrest and prosecute this man but they dismissed me and said there was no evidence and the DPO in front of my daughter said she would have enjoyed it anyway.
“This is the most disgusting behavior of the police in response to a very serious crime with long lasting psychological damage on the victim.”
He also urged the Ogun government in his petition to ensure justice for his daughter, adding, “My daughter and the other girls who have been abused by the proprietor deserve justice; they deserve to go to school without fear of harm, without having to be faced by the man who raped and defiled them.
“I beseech you to please help me find justice and secure the safety of my daughter and the girls in my village.”
The police spokesman of the Ogun State Police Command, Muyiwa Adejobi, when contacted, urged our correspondent to send him a text message, promising to get back to him.
He had, however, yet to reply to the text message or call our correspondent back as of the time of going to the press.
PUNCH
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