In Kogi State, a 41-year-old man has admitted to abusing his biological daughter sexually for three years while depriving her of her virginity.
The suspect, who is currently in the care of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Kogi Command, admitted to the security personnel that he committed the crime as a result of his wife leaving him and their two daughters.
He claimed that his wife’s action hypnotized him and he started to develop feelings for their oldest daughter, who was 16 at the time of the interview in 2020.
Ahmad Gandi, the state’s commandant, stated that the command had received a complaint from a non-governmental organization on May 5 while parading the suspect on Wednesday at the NSCDC Command Headquarters in Lokoja.
He claims that the accusation was made regarding an incident involving defilement, rape, and incest in which the suspect is the victim’s biological father.
The investigation revealed that the younger sister of the abused girl had earlier suggested that they kill their father or commit suicide because he would not stop the abusive behavior he began with the eldest from 2020 to 2023.
Naija News reports that after some moments of grilling, the accused father admitted to committing the act.
Following the conclusion of the investigation, the suspect would be charged in court, according to the NSCDC Command. Gandi commended the NGO for reporting the case to the command while urging other victims in society who were dying in silence to come out and report such cases.
However, Gandi claimed that because the case is sensitive, journalists are not allowed to reveal the victim’s identity or the suspect’s name in order to prevent the victim from being stigmatized.
The victim reportedly told newsmen about her ordeal, claiming that her father had been abusing her sexually ever since her mother left the house in 2020.
Her words read: “It happened in 2020 when my mum left home, and since then, my Dad has been sexually abusing me.
“In 2021, my father impregnated me and took me to a clinic where they aborted the pregnancy I had for him.
“I couldn’t leave the house because of my younger sister as I was afraid my father could do the same thing to my sister,” the victim said.
She added: “After aborting the pregnancy, he continued the sexual abuse until I couldn’t take it anymore, which I had to report to an NGO who reported the case to NSCDC.”
The suspect, who claimed he was hypnotized after his wife left him in 2020, acknowledged doing the act and that he actually degraded his daughter.
“I actually committed the act, but I don’t know how I did it. I love my wife very well; I begged her to come back home but she never did for the past three years.
“It is the same stage I was in when my mother left my father, that my wife left my children for me and went away. I love my wife, but she never comes back to me,” the suspect said.
Speaking about the circumstance, Abdulrasak Ibrahim, the executive director of the non-governmental organization (NGO), the Islamic Centre for Communication and Creative Thought (ItrippleCT), praised the NSCDC for doing an excellent job in acting swiftly to capture the suspect.
Ibrahim stated that as soon as the problem was brought to his attention, the victim was moved away from her father’s home to a secure location to shield her from further abuse.
For their part, the Kogi Network of NGO Chairman, Amb. Idris Muraina, and the Chairperson of the Federation of Women Lawyers, Barr. Lilian Okolo, both praised the NSCDC for their proactivity in handling the case.
To serve as a warning to other negligent fathers out there, Okolo pledged that FIDA would see to it that the suspect was prosecuted.
In order to guarantee that the girl child’s right was protected and that she received justice, Muraina gave the assurance that the NGOs in Kogi would continue to act professionally in such cases.
He urged other victims of such acts going through such traumatic experiences in the state to speak out, assuring that it would be pursued to a logical conclusion to get justice for them.
The KONGONET Chairman also appealed to the State and Federal Governments and the International community to provide a “Safe Keep” accommodation in the state where victims of such acts could be accommodated during the duration of the case.
The Amalgamated All Progressives Congress (APC) Support Groups say the contest for the president of the 10th Senate is a constitutional matter, and senators-elect must be allowed to exercise their constitutional rights to vote for leaders of their choice.
The group’s director-general, Kailani Muhammad, said this on Wednesday at a news conference in Abuja.
Mr Muhammad, also the national chairman of the Tinubu/Shettima Network (TSN), described the endorsement of Godswill Akpabio for Senate president as a rumour.
“The rumours going around of endorsement is indeed a total distraction from the tenets of democracy and must be discarded by all and sundry. We must allow the free will of choice by the senators-elect to flourish,” said Mr Muhammad. “The senators-elect must be allowed to exercise their constitutional rights to vote for aspirants of their choice at the Senate chamber because democracy demands it.”
The APC leadership reached a resolution on the two key offices in the National Assembly following a meeting of the NWC on Monday at the national secretariat of the party in Abuja.
Mr Muhammad said, “To allay the fears of Nigerians and indeed the aspirants to the office, the publicity secretary of our great party, Mr Felix Snooker, came out on Channels Television to debunk the statement and likened it to a damaging rumour.”
He added, “Felix categorically stated that the party and aspirants are still talking and rubbing minds with other stakeholders and negotiating to see how the issue can be resolved amicably for the country to move forward. Felix said categorically that the party is working towards a peaceful resolution of the issue, such that it can ensure a developed Nigeria devoid of rancour.”
A cross-section of senators-elect from various political parties also rejected external influence in the election of their presiding officers.
At the induction programme organised for them by the National Assembly management, in collaboration with the National Institute for Legislative and Democratic Studies, the senators-elect insisted that to ensure full independence of the parliament, the constitutional provisions on the emergence of presiding officers must be followed.
Senator-elect Ned Nwoko, representing Delta North senatorial district on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), said members of the 10th Senate would reject any attempt by the executive to pocket the legislature.
Nwoko said, “The overwhelming majority of the senators-elect are of the opinion that we must be independent. That is the only way we can take the executive to account. The parliament is not meant to be pocketed by the executive.”
Senator-elect AbdulRaham Kawu-Sumaila, a former minority leader of the House of Representatives, now representing Kano South on the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) platform, said any attempt to impose presiding officers on the 10th National Assembly would fail.
