Justice Sybil Nwaka of an Ikeja Special
Offences and Domestic Violence Court, Lagos State, yesterday, heard how a
42-year-old carpenter, Wasiu Rasheed, aka Baba Aliyah, defiled a 13-year-old
girl (name withheld).
Rasheed, who had earlier denied the
allegation, is standing trial on a one count charge of defilement.
The offence is contrary to Section 137
of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The 13-year-old victim told the court
that the defendant had, on several occasions, made attempts to rape her before
he finally succeeded on March 9, 2018.
The victim, a pupil at the community
comprehensive secondary school, said that the defendant was a neighbour at
their former residence at No 18 Mustapha Street, Olodi-Apapa, Lagos, where the
incident occurred.
While being led in evidence by a State
prosecuting Counsel, A.O. Alagbe, the girl said: "I was 11 years old when
Baba Aliyah raped me inside our toilet. Baba Aliyah is a former neighbour in my
compound at Olodi Apapa. The house we lived in was a bungalow. We had about 18
to 19 rooms in the compound. On the 9th of March, 2018, at about 8pm, I went to
the toilet to defecate when Baba approached me. He was wearing a black short
and a white singlet. He came to the toilet, pushed me to the wall and put his
penis into my anus, (referring to vagina). Immediately blood started coming out
from my anus and it stained my night gown.”
The victim further narrated: “When he
left me, I felt severe pain in my anus and from the little bruises on my arm. I
later washed off the blood on my bumbum
and the bloodstain on my gown. The next morning, he gave me N200, and my mom
questioned me about the money and I told her it was Baba Aliyah who gave it to
me. I was so afraid she would flog me that I ran out of the house. On my way, I
met a group of people who saw me crying and I explained everything to them. It
was those people that took me to Tolu Police Station. I was asked to write a
statement. The police then gave us a letter to take to the general hospital and
from there we were referred to Mirabel Centre for medical examination. At the centre,
they ran some tests on me.”
Asked why she didn't scream while being
violated by the defendant, the minor said: "I was an asthmatic patient. It
was when the asthma started that I went to the toilet. Baba also covered my
mouth with his hands that was why I couldn't shout. That wasn’t the first time
he had tried to sexually abuse me. He had attempted to rape me several times
but I escaped.”
The victim also told the court that she
was afraid of reporting the several rape attempts made by the defendant to her
parents because of the fear of being beaten up.
Justice Nwaka thereafter adjourned the
matter till February 27 for continuation of trial.
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