A 35-year-old man, Andrew Ekanem, has been arrested by the police for
allegedly raping his neighbour’s daughter in the Bariga area of Lagos
State.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the
14-year-old victim was still undergoing a six-month treatment for
tuberculosis when she was attacked by the suspect on Monday morning.
Source was told that the victim was the first of four children. The
mother of the victim, Mrs. Adenike Aderinkomi, a trader, Punch at their house on Akilo Street that her daughter went to
ease herself in the early hours of the morning when she was cornered by
the Cross River State indigene.
She claimed the suspect penetrated her daughter through the anus and vagina.
She said,
“It was around 2am on Monday when my daughter woke up and said she wanted to go and ease herself.
“I was having my quiet time and didn’t know when I slept off. I woke up about 15 minutes later and didn’t see her in the room.
“I woke her father up and he said he didn’t know her whereabouts. We both became anxious and went outside to search for her.
“Another neighbour also joined us in the search.”
She said she was shouting her daughter’s name in the backyard, but did not get any response.
Aderinkomi said about 10 minutes later, her husband saw their daughter coming out of Ekanem’s room.
Our
correspondent learnt people overwhelmed her with a barrage of
questions, but the Primary six pupil insisted she went to ease herself.
Her mother said she pulled her away from the growing crowd of neighbors and pressed her to talk.
“My
daughter became afraid. She then told me that while she was on her way
to ease herself, Ekanem grabbed her and took her inside his room to
sleep with her. She said while I was shouting her name, he covered her
mouth.
“People seized him and wanted
to beat him up. But I had to quickly report the matter to the police
very early in the morning so people would not take the law into their
hands,” she said.
Aderinkomi said she
was surprised because when her daughter fell critically ill in
February, last year, Ekanem assisted her family in taking her to
Calabar, the Cross River State capital, for traditional treatment.
PUNCH Metro learnt that after the alleged rape, the victim was taken to the Gbagada General Hospital for testing and treatment.
A medical report, which was sighted by our correspondent, revealed that the victim sustained bruises in her private parts.
The
paper, signed by one Dr. Ojekunle of the hospital, stated, “The child
was caught with a neighbor around 2am today. She confessed that the neighbor called her on her way to ease herself and forced her and had
sex with her.
“She sustained bruises in her anus and vagina (as a result of) sexual assault.”
Punch correspondent was told that the victim had been taken to an undisclosed orthodox church for “prayers and deliverance”.
A
carpenter, Tunde Hassan, who lives in the house where the incident
happened, expressed surprise, saying nobody imagined Ekanem could do
such a thing.
Hassan said, “Up till
now, I cannot comprehend what happened. The man was a gentle man and he
never fought or made trouble with anybody.
It was learnt that the suspect was arrested by policemen from the Bariga Police Division.
A
police source told the source that investigation revealed the
suspect was fond of the act and usually induced his victims with money.
He
said, “That was not his first time of doing such a thing. This
particular girl, he had slept with her about three times. He was always
giving her money ranging from N200 to N500.
“But
this time, he was caught red-handed and that was why the girl’s parents
are insisting on taking him to court. When he was queried, he didn’t
give any reason for his behavior. He’s just fond of sleeping with
little girls.”
The Police Public
Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Kenneth Nwosu, confirmed the
incident, adding that the suspect had been taken to court.
