When 12-year-old Peace(not real name)left her
home town in Imo state to live with her aunt in Lagos, last December , her
parents expectation was for her to get the best of education her guardian could
afford.
Enthusiastic Peace was said to have bid her
parents farewell, with a promise to be a good girl and at also, grow up some
day to lift the burden of poverty off them.
But seven months down the lane, Peace is
regretting her decision of leaving her parents watchful eyes , following her
traumatized tale of how she was raped by a man she called uncle, in a house she
worked as a maid, on June 20, 2014.
Upon leaving the village, Peace was said to
have stayed with her aunt, one madam Ijeoma , a trader, at Oba Akran area of
Ikeja , Lagos.
However , in January this year, Ijeoma
reportedly gave peace to a banker friend , one Maureen, who lives in a three
bedroom apartment at 32 Mosalasi Street in Maza-Maza area of Lagos.
Rather than enroll Peace in school, Crime Guard
investigation revealed that the banker compelled Peace beyond her volition to
take care of her aged mother. While Maureen went to work that fateful day,
‘uncle Kingsley’, allegedly defiled the 12-year-old girl.
Narrating her ordeal to Crime Guard, Peace
said: “I was busy washing plates in the kitchen when uncle Kingsley asked me to
come to his bed room to help him read out a message on his phone. Immediately I
entered his room, he grabbed me and forcefully removed my pants and raped me.
My scream attracted mama’s attention and she
called and asked why I was crying . Before I could respond, uncle Kingsley told
her not to worry, that there was no problem. When he wanted to do it again, I
struggled and managed to escape and ran to a nearby Church where I met a woman.
I remained in the Church and joined them in the vigil till the next day.
I was afraid to go home the next day. While I
was sitting by the road side, the landlord of the house where I was sexually
abused saw me and took me back home. When I got home, one of Kingsley’s sisters
who came to the house beat me mercilessly for running away from the house.
They later called my aunt Ijeoma, who brought
me from the village and informed her that I ran away from home.
They told her they were bringing me back
because I was wasting food . But it was not true.”
Crime Guard gathered that investigation into
the alleged rape began after the Lagos State Commissioner of Police , Umar
Manko received a petition from the National coordinator, Network on Police
Reform in Nigeria (NOPRIN), Okechukwu Nwanguma, to investigate the act , with a
view to ensuring that the alleged culprit was prosecuted in court if found
culpable.
Consequently, the Divisional Police Officer
in-charge of Satellite was directed by the CP to look into the matter. Efforts
by the police to effect the arrest of the accused, Kingsley, reportedly failed
as his wife was said to have told the policemen that her husband was not home
each time they called.
VICTIM'S AUNT'S ACCOUNT:
In an interview with the victim’s aunt ,
Ijeoma, a widow with three children, she said: “ “I received a call from
Maureen’s family ,informing me that they were bringing back my niece because
she was wasting their food and that she ran out of the house.
True to their word, Maurine, brought my niece.
When she left, I started questioning my niece
on why she ran away from home. To my shock, she opened up that Uncle Kinsley
sexually abused her. Upon examining her, I noticed that her private part was
severely bruised and an offensive liquid smell was emitting from it.
Immediately ,I took her to Adeniyi Jones
Primary Healthcare Centre,where the Medical Officer confirmed that she was
raped. The report from the hospital confirmed that there were bruises in her
virginal and they issued a referral slip to the Lagos State University Teaching
Hospital, LASUTH.
“Instead of taking her to the hospital for
treatment for the bruises resulting from the rape, Maurine claimed she returned
my niece for wasting food. Even when I called her to ask her about the
incident, she replied me with threat text messages. As if that was not enough,
she also came to my house to threaten my family and accused me of attempting to
exploit her family.”
“I thought Maureen was a member of my church
because it was printed in our weekly bulletin that someone needed a house maid
. When I met her, she pleaded that she needed a little girl who would take care
of her mum since she usually goes to work early and comes back late.
Part of the bargain was for her to send the
person to school. But to my shock, I discovered that my niece has been in that
house since January. I also found out that she is not a member of my church.
What baffles me is how her request entered the Church’s bulletin.
Anyway, all I need is justice. I am therefore
pleading with the police to investigate the case thoroughly”, she said.
Source: Vanguard
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