The
police in Lagos State have commenced investigation into how a
nine-year-old girl died, after sustaining injuries caused by alleged
consistent rapé.
According
to police authorities, the deceased was rapéd 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
vaginá, 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 sexuál 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 ráping 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 rápist’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 séx by watching blue (pórnográphic) 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.”
