Raped at 15, abandoned at 16
Raped, impregnated by father and abandoned by family, a 16 year old girl needs help urgently, writes PATIENCE OGBO.Child birth in this part of the world can be a thing of joy. But for the young 16 year old, the coming of the new born is just the beginning of another unending nightmare. She was raped by her father and also impregnated by the worthless man. The police though picked the father up for trial, but her father’s family and all friends have abandoned her because they see her as an object of abject shame. This is the story of a young girl who needs help, desperately. But his name, picture and identity can’t be revealed unless to any individual with a large heart willing to provide sustenance for the unfortunate mother and child.
The police said the girl, a Junior Secondary School student has given birth to a baby boy on September 9th 2014 but she has no place to go with her baby as her family has disowned her and her child. Bisi Ilobanafor, the Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, said the girl and her son are currently staying at the police command’s custody as efforts by the police to reunite her with her family have proved abortive.
Ilobanafor, a Superintendent of police, said the girl’s ordeal started after she summoned courage and reported her father, one Segun Oderinde, aged 42, to the police at the Igbeti Police Command of the state over allegations that her father raped her and she suspected she was pregnant with his child.
“On April 30th 2014, a 16-year-old girl in JSS2, reported a case of rape to the police station at Igbeti, alleging that that her father , one Segun Oderinde 42 years raped her . The girl is the only daughter of her father and her mother is divorced from her father.
The mother of the girl has been taking care of her since she was 3 years old but when she clocked 15, her father who has two other wives went back to his estranged wife and got his daughter to stay with him. The girl said that her father was not living with any of his wives. She said she was living with her father and was the one cooking and doing other domestic chores for him. She told the police that sometime in 2013, her father came back home very late drunk and forced her to have sex with him.
She added that her father continued in this incestuous act and despite her complaints to her step mothers, none of them took her serious. She, however, summoned courage and reported the matter to the police and her father was arrested.” Ilobanafor narrated.
The police superintendant also added that the girl gave a vivid account of how she was allegedly raped by her father. “She said her father raped her on December 1st 2013, April 18th and 20th 2014. She discovered that she was feeling weak and she was taken to a clinic in Igbeti.
The owner of the clinic informed her grandfather and her father that she was pregnant but her father started maltreating her until the case was reported to the police. Initially, her father denied the allegation but after a while, he confessed he slept with her but denied he was responsible for her pregnancy.
Her father’s family pleaded with the police that they will handle the matter as a family issue but the police carried out a thorough investigation and took the girl to the General hospital at Igbeti where it was discovered that she was four months pregnant. The girl’s father was arraigned at the Magistrate Court Kisi on a three count charge of rape. He was remanded in prison custody but her father’s family would not want to have anything to do with the girl and her pregnancy.
The police have been taking care of her and on September 9th, she gave birth to a baby boy. She was discharged from the hospital on September 14th and her family has refused to take her and the baby in. She and her baby are with the police,” said the police officer. Ilobanafor decried the maltreatment rape victims undergo in the society. She urged religious and cultural bodies to preach against immorality in the society. “It is very sad that this girl is suffering double jeopardy.
She is the victim but her family does not want to have anything to do with her. They wanted to settle the matter, but a crime has been committed. Rape is a serious offence and the Nigeria Police Force does not take issues of rape and defilement with levity.
We ensure that all cases of rape reported in our stations get the desired attention and after a thorough investigation, we prosecute the suspects. It is therefore not true that the Nigeria police Force allow families to settle cases of rape. “The Nigeria Police Force is worried about rape. We have been carrying out awareness campaign in schools, rural communities, motor parks, and other public places against rape and defilement.
Our Campaigns in school teach girls how to identify suspicious moves from a person that can abuse them sexually. We teach them to speak out and not to keep secrets especially with men. “The campaigns have been yielding positive results as people are willing to speak out against rapists.
The awareness against rape in Oyo State has helped to reduce issues of rape and defilement. It is unfortunate that this girl is in this mess. We are calling on spirited Nigerians, religious bodies, companies to come to the aid to this girl and her child,” Ilobanafor said.
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