A man simply
named Thompson, 37, Mechanic by profession, allegedly accused of sexually
abused his 4-year old daughter till she lost her voice, the victim’s mother has
raised the alarm that the authorities had released the man without prosecution.
Funmi
alleged that her husband had on many occasions raped their four-year-old
daughter, Rebecca, in their home in Igando area of Lagos.
She alleged that apart from having sexual intercourse with the little
girl on several occasions, she had caught her husband inserting his finger into
the private part of the girl more than once, all of which had traumatized
Rebecca to the point where she could no longer talk.
Funmi said,
“With all that he did, I thought he would face the law. I thought he would be
prosecuted for the abominations he had committed.
“Now, I look
over my shoulder anytime I walk on the street. I always tell my children to be
careful too. Who knows what he is planning against us?
“I fear for
my life and that of my children now. After he was released, he went to the
school of my children and attempted to take them from there, but the teacher
did not release them to him. I did not even know he was released until they
told me he visited the school.”
She narrated
the genesis of the event thus….“It started in 2013 when I suddenly woke up one
night and saw my husband removing the panties of my daughter. It was in the
midnight. I wanted to shout but I wanted to see what he was up to. So, I acted
like I didn’t see him because the room was relatively dark.
“When he
pulled down her panties, he looked around and when he felt convinced that
everyone was deep asleep, he stood up and moved to where the girl was and
dipped his hand in her private part. I screamed.”
The case was
reported to the Lagos State Office of the Public Defender, where a lawyer was
assigned to handle the case.
“I was
surprised that he has been released. Nobody told me anything,” Funmi said.
Director of
the Esther Child Rights Foundation, Esther Ogwu, who reported the case to the
OPD, explained that the case might have been destroyed by the police when it
was transferred to the Department of Criminal Investigation in the state.
She said, “I
can say with confidence that the problem could not have come from the OPD
because they don’t waste time in handling terrible cases like this.
“The police were the ones who released him without prosecution. They even
called the woman a liar for reporting that her husband raped his own daughter
when she was invited to come and give her statement.
“It is
unfortunate the woman is no longer safe now. She told us that she now runs from
one place to another in fear of her husband. I feel sad when things like these
happen in our country and the culprits go scot-free.”
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