EVEN the police officers who arrested the suspect could not but betray their emotions when Mrs Kafayat Abiola came to report at the police station that her three-year-old daughter (names withheld) was raped by a 22-year-old Uche Chukwu last week. According to the mother of the three-year-old girl who resides at Baba Isale Compound, Kudeti area, Ibadan, the suspect took advantage of the little girl’s’ condition to perpetrate the evil act. She added that when the girl’s behaviour was abnormal, she tried to confirm her strange reaction where the girl was able to narrate what happened. On sensing the development, Mrs Abiola was said to have raised the alarm and reported the matter to the police. The victim was then taken to the Adeoyo Hospital, Yemetu, Ibadan, where medical examination was conducted on the girl and penetration was confirmed. The suspect, Chukwu, sources informed, is currently undergoing interrogation at the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID) Iyaganku, Ibadan. When contacted, the Public Relations Officer, Oyo State Police Commnad, DSP Olabisi Clet-Ilobanafor, said the incident was a sad and unfortunate one. “The suspect committed a crime against a minor and a physically challenged person. He will be charged to court after preliminary investigation has been conducted and if the court finds him culpable, he has to face the music.” Meanwhile, according to a survey conducted by the News agency of Nigeria (NAN), incidence of rape has taken a serious dimension in Ibadan, Oyo State, with over 20 new cases reported monthly. The survey revealed that the menace was fast assuming a dangerous dimension with reported abuse of minors. James Ajibola, the legal adviser to the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Oyo State chapter, one of those polled in the survey, said that rape was one of the social vices currently ravaging the society. Ajibola, said that aside the fact that it is an aberration, underage girls are now major targets of rapists, leaving their victims with horrible experiences. The legal practitioner said that the Nigerian constitution defines rape and spells out penalties for culprits, which range from two to 14 years jail term, depending on the severity of the crime or court’s discretion. If you are in position to judge give you judgement
Posted on: Thu, 03 Oct 2013 09:10:31 +0000