A nine-year-old pupil on
Wednesday narrated before an Ikeja Special Offences and Domestic Violence Court
in Lagos how a 40-year-old policeman simply identified as Andy, lured her into
his apartment and defiled her on numerous occasions.
The child made the revelation
during the trial of Andy on one count of defilement, contrary to section 137 of
the criminal law of Lagos state, 2015.
The child, who described herself
as a primary five pupil of one of the schools in Lagos state, was led in
evidence by Inumidun Solarin, the state prosecutor.
She said the defendant, who was
her neighbour, had defiled her on various occasions and that on the last
occasion, he had lured her into his apartment under the pretext of giving her
N200 to buy milk for him.
The child told the court that
Andy, after defiling her, had hid her under his bed when her elder sister was
frantically searching for her.
“I know Brother Andy (the
defendant). He is our neighbour, who lives at the backyard of our house. He is
popularly known as ‘Officer’,’ she said.
“On that day, Brother Andy called
me when I got back from school and sent me on an errand. He sent me to go and
buy milk for him. Then he gave me N200.
“I bought the milk and when I
returned, he asked me to bring it inside his room. He then said I should drop
the milk on the table and sit down.
“When I sat down, he now told me
to lie on the bed and remove my pant. He now put his penis in my bum bum. He
put his penis at my front bum bum (she demonstrates by pointing at her vagina).
“After that, he asked me to hide
under the bed when my elder sister came calling my name.
“One of our neighbours, Chioma,
even entered his room to buy recharge card for him, though she didn’t see me, I
saw her from under the bed.
“And because my elder sister was
shouting my name and looking for me, officer told me to pretend like nothing
happened and that I should pass through the backyard gate.”
The child said when she was found
by her sister, she lied and said that she was at her friend’s house and that
her sister had insisted that she took her to the friend’s house.
“I started begging her not to
beat me, and I told her that I was inside officer’s room. My sister beat me and
reported to my father who was very angry,” she said.
“When my mummy came back from the
market where she sells abacha (African salad), my sister reported me again.
“This time, my mummy threatened
to kill me if I don’t tell her what happened. I became afraid and told her the
truth.
“Immediately, my mummy called all
her brothers and they came to our house the following morning and took us to
Amukoko Police Station to report.
“It was after we made a report at
the station that the Police came and arrested Brother Andy.”
The witness said she was referred
by authorities to the Mirabel Centre (a Sexual Assault Referral Centre) where
the doctors revealed that she had been sexually abused on several occasions.
The prosecutor asked, “How many
times has he done such to you (sexual intercourse)?”
“Many times. I can’t really
count,” the child responded.
While being cross-examined by
M.L. Ezomo, the defence counsel, the child said the reason why she did not
report the abuse was because the policeman had threatened to kill her if she
told anyone.
She also added: “No other person
touched me except Brother Andy.”
According to the prosecution, the
policeman allegedly defiled the nine-year-old child on June 6 at Amukoko area
of Lagos.
Section 137 of the Criminal Law
of Lagos 2015 prescribes a life sentence for anyone found guilty of defilement.
The matter has been adjourned
till October 30.
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