A 16-year old daughter has told the Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court how her 43-year-old father allegedly violated her many times.
She testified at her father’s trial while being led in evidence by Lagos state counsel, Ms Bukola Okeowo on Thursday.
According to her, the father’s violation began after her mother had relocated to South Africa in 2014.
She testified that her father had been having sex with her since she was 14 years, claiming the “Holy spirit” instructed him to keep doing so.
“I was 14 years old when the incident happened. It started with him touching my body.
“When I noticed this, I moved my body from him. I told my twin brother about it the following morning, but he did not believe me.
“The next day, he had sex with me. I could not shout nor do anything because my father threatened me,” the victim told the court.
She further testified that her father continued to violate her even after they relocated to Badore, Ajah, Lagos state.
“At this point, it became an issue because he had sex with me almost every time on a beach.
“There was a night he woke me up and told me that ‘holy spirit’ told him to have sex with me and when he realised I was not ready to submit myself, 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 did not make any sound because he threatened to kill me – the reason I could not tell my mother.”
She testified that her father later took her and her twin brother to his girlfriend’s residence at the Chevron area of Lekki, Lagos state, to live with her, adding that he still had sex with her there.
She said that her father asked her to pack out of his girlfriend’s house one midnight but she objected and neighbours waded in.
“I saw him at my back at midnight telling me to pack my things and leave the house that day.
“As I was packing, I was scared he might have sex with me again; so, I locked the door from inside,” she testified.
The minor told the court that after interventions from the landlord and another old man, she opened the door.
“He took my bag and dragged me out. It was from there I started shouting for help.
“Some youths in the neighbourhood came out and confronted him, asking him where he wanted to take me to at that time of the night.
“He told them that I would not stay in that house again. It was at that time I told the other old man that my father had been having sex with me.”
The victim 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 that she also told her father’s girlfriend about the alleged violation in April 2021 and she connected with her mother on Facebook and informed her about the alleged crime.
She said that her father and mother communicated to each other once in a while and mostly ended up in a fight.
“The case was later reported at Langbasa Police Station in Ajah. After that, it was transferred to the state command.
“I later went to the Gender Section of the state police command and they took me to Mirabel Medical Centre where tests were carried out on me.
“I also went to the Domestic and Sexual Violence Response Agency (DSVRA) for counselling,” she said.
While responding to questions from defence counsel, Mr Buhari Momoodu, the teenager testified that she was once violated before her father had canal knowledge of her.
She also said that she did not have any quarrels with her father.
“But he said we were not peaceful; that was the reason he took us to his girlfriend’s place.
“I saw my father as a role model before, because people respect him. He always prays; sometimes, he wakes us up at midnight to pray.”
Another witness, Dr Oyedeji Alagbe, a forensic examiner at the Mirabel Centre, told the court that he carried out medical examinations on the survivor on June 28, 2021.
He said that his findings showed no fresh injuries on the vagina but showed that the survivor had repeated forceful vaginal penetration.
Justice Ramon Oshodi adjourned the case until June 6 for the continuation of the trial.
