Trader, 39, charged with rape of niece

A 39- year-old man, Innocent Azamarogbe, was on Wednesday brought  before an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos State charged with the rape of his niece.
The accused, a trader, who resides at Block A, Flat 1, Alausa Barracks, Ikeja, is facing a charge of rape.
The prosecutor, Sergeant Raphael Donny, told the court that the accused committed the incestuous offence between 2016 and 2017 at his residence.
Donny said that the girl, a 14-year -old, who is a niece to the accused, was leaving with him.
“The accused has been molesting the girl since 2016 but she kept it to herself until her mother paid a visit.
“The victim told her mother what the accused had been doing with her and the woman reported the matter to the police station.
“The accused was arrested,’’ he said.
The prosecutor said that the offence contravened Section 259 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
The accused, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
The chief magistrate, Mrs Folakemi Davies – Abegunde, granted the accused to a bail of N1 million with two sureties in like sum.
Davies-Abegunde adjourned the case until July 31 for advice from the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPPs).