A 16-year-old girl (name withheld) has narrated before an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court how her 43-year-old biological father, Emmanuel Odega, allegedly defiled her on several occasions in their kitchen and on the beach.
Led in evidence by State Prosecutor, Ms Bukola Okeowo, before the court presided over by Justice Ramon Oshodi, the victim said the incident was possible because of the absence of her mother who relocated to South Africa for greener pastures in 2014.
In her evidence, the victim informed the court that her father had been having sex with her at the age of 14.
The survivor said that the father told her that “holy spirit” instructed him to have sexual intercourse with her.
Her narration: “I was 14 years when the incident happened. It initially started with him touching my body. When I noticed this, I moved my body from him. I told my twin brother about it then the next morning but he did not believe me.
“The next day, he had sex with me that very night. I could not shout or do anything because my father threatened me. He continued to do so after we moved from where we were and we relocated to wooden short let in Badore, Ajah.
“At this point, it became an issue because he had sex with me almost every time on the beach,” she said.
“There was a night he woke me up and told me that holy spirit told him to have sex with me. I thought he was pulling my legs but when he realized I was not ready to submit myself, that was when he forcefully had sex with me.
“There was also a time my father had issues with his girlfriend. He woke me up and took me to the kitchen to have sex with me. I dare not make any sound because he threatened to kill me. The reason I could not tell my mother.”
She said his father and mother communicated once a while but they mostly ended up in fight.
She narrated that her father, who later took her and her twin brother to her girlfriend place in Chevron in Lekki area to live with her, also had sex with her in her (girlfriend) house.
She said her father had asked her to pack out of his girlfriend’s house at midnight but she objected which led to the intervention of neighbours.
“I saw him at my back at midnight telling me to pack my things that I will leave the house that day. As I was packing, I was scared he may have sex with me again so I locked the door from inside.
“After some interventions from the landlord and another old man, I opened the door. He took my bag and dragged me out. It was from there I started shouting for help.
“Some boys in the neighbourhood came out and confronted him that where was he taking me to at the time of the night.
“He told them he is my father that I will not stay in that house again. It was the time I explained to the other old man that my father has been having sex with me for almost one year.”
The survivor said the old man called the estate chairman the following morning. The man asked if I wanted to pursue the case and I told him yes.
She said she had told her father’s girlfriend, one aunty Gloria in April 2021 who later got in contact with her mother on Facebook and informed her of the incident.
“The case was later reported at Langbasa Police Station in Ajah after that it was transferred to State Command. I later went to Gender Police Station and they directed me to Mirabel Medical Centre where various tests were carried out. I also went for Domestic Sexual Violence Response Agency (DSVRA) for counseling,” she said.
While responding to cross examinations from the defence counsel, Mr Buhari Momoodu, the girl said she had once been raped before her father allegedly had canal knowledge of her.
In her response to the counsel if she had any quarrel with her father, she said, “No but he said we were not peaceful, the reason he took us to his girlfriend’s place to stay.
“I always saw my father as a role model because people respect him. He always pray and sometimes, he wakes us up at midnight to pray.
“There was a particular business he engaged in that did not yield profit. Because of that, he started saying I am a witch and that I am the one behind his failure. I nevertheless disobeyed him until he started sleeping with me.”
Another witness, Dr Oyedeji Alagbe, a forensic examiner at Mirabel Centre, told the court that he carried out a medical report on the survivor on June 28, 2021.
He said his findings showed no fresh injuries to the vagina but the examination showed that the survivor has had repeated forceful vagina penetration.
Justice Ramon Oshodi adjourned the case until June 6 for continuation of trial.
