One Kehinde Paul who allegedly raped a two-year-old girl, has been arraigned before the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja.
The
mother of the victim, Mrs. Mercy Ofaghae gave her evidence in court as
the prosecution first witness, and narrated how her neighbour, Kehinde
raped her daughter.
The complainant was said to have first reported the matter on January 13, a day after the incident occurred.
Mrs
Mercy said, “That fateful night, my daughter was running temperature as
a result of teething. I called my neighbour and friend, Mrs. Layode
Paul, the wife of the accused, who brought paracetamol for my daughter
and advised me to bathe her. This was 3 weeks after my husband travelled
out of the country, precisely on the 12th of January.”
“I waited
till the next morning to study her reaction to the drug but it didn’t
suppress her temperature, so I decided to go out to get another form of
medication for my daughter. I left my daughter with my neighbour’s husband, the accused, because the wife had gone to the salon.
“When
I got back home with the drug, Mr. Kehinde’s door was locked and after
knocking, I had to wait for about an hour before he opened the door; he
claimed he was in the bathroom. When he eventually did, I took my
daughter to our apartment and I took off her clothes to bath her before
administering the drug,” she added.
“I screamed when I wanted
to remove her pants as I noticed sperm on it. Neighbours rushed into my
apartment to see what the matter was. The defendant was also among
those who came in and he asked me if I was accusing him of raping my
daughter. At that point, another neighbour slapped him, saying the
defendant had finally exposed himself,” the woman said.
The
victim’s mother said the two-year-old was rushed to a hospital and after
being tested, the doctor confirmed that she was sexually abused.
Mrs Mercy went further to say she was astonished when she realized what her neighbour’s husband had done to her 2-year-old baby.
“Though
his family members begged me not to disclose the shameful act, it
seemed my daughter was not the first victim because the defendant’s
brother confirmed this,” she said.
Although Kehinde pleaded not guilty, he was ordered to be remanded in prison custody.
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