A 37-year-old man, Agu Echezona
Harrison, was remanded in prison custody by an Ikeja High Court,
Lagos for sexually assaulting his 6-year-old daughter by allegedly inserting
his fingers into her vagina.
Harrison, who denied the allegation,
was arraigned on a one count charge of sexual assault, contrary to Sections 259
of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2011.
The prosecuting officer, Adebayo
Haroun, told the Court that the accused committed the offence between 2013 and
2015 at No. 23 Rotimi Omotosho Street, Isheri Osun State. He is alleged to have
serially sexually violated the girl from 2013, to 2015, when he was arrested.
The charge reads that, "Harrison
did sexually assault a six-year-old girl (name withheld) by inserting his
finger into her vagina.”
A woman, Akukwe Priscilla,
identified as Harrison's wife, who reported the case to the police, said that
the defendant was fond of touching the little girl's private part.
According to the confessional
statement made by Priscilla, the incident started in 2013, which was around the
period she noticed an offensive odour oozing out of her daughter's private part
with frequent whitish discharge.
Priscilla said that she asked her
daughter if she was feeling sick, but the little girl replied that her daddy
has been inserting his hand into her bum bum.
She said: "When I heard that, I
carried her along to the hospital for my son's immunization, since my husband
doesn't allow me out of the house. I begged the nurses to examine her also and
when they did, it was confirmed that someone has been touching her. The nurses
had to ask her who touched her and she also told them the same thing by saying
'my daddy touch my bum bum'. When I confronted him, he denied it and I angrily
went to his mother to report the matter. But to my shock, instead of my
mother-in-law to rebuke or warn him, she rather told him to stop me from
escalating the issue.
"After that, in December 2013,
he raped my younger sister and also tried to deny it, not knowing I had taken
my sister for a test at the hospital to check the drop of sperm found inside
her. Since it was barely 24 hours the rape happened, I forced him to go for a
test also and he did. The hospital confirmed it was a match with the one on my
sister.
"He immediately started begging
and prostrating that he was sorry. I had felt he was truly sorry, when in 2014
I started noticing same discharge from my daughter, but this time, with a thick
discharge like catarrh from her vagina.
"When I insisted we should take
her to the hospital, he refused. I had to take her alone. I even had to show
him our little girls stained pant so he could see the harm he was doing, but he
paid no attention. I had to leave the house with my kids, which he later came
fighting for custody, especially for my little girl.”
Meanwhile, Harrison verbally
attacked some journalists who were trying to get facts of the matter from the
court.
When he saw journalists talking
about the matter after court proceedings, Harrison lashed out threats of suing
any reporter that dares publishes his matter.
Harrison said: "I will sue you
people if you write anything about me. It is a family affair and, therefore,
none of your business.”
He further went ahead to pour a
sachet of pure water on a NAN reporter who tried to take his photograph.
Justice Sedotan Ogunsanya adjourned
the matter till November 20 for commencement of trial.
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