A 65-year-old landlord, in
Akowonjo area of Lagos, Mr. Ganiyu Sani, has allegedly raped a
seven-year-old girl, Blessing. But this time, the parents of the victim
believe he did it for ritual purposes.
The civil servant mother of the victim
told our correspondent that on Monday, August 17, 2015, when she got
back from work and was having dinner with her children, Blessings
started to touch her crotch and complain of pain.
“I felt the part she was touching and asked what was wrong with her. I thought she was referring to her lower abdomen and believed it must be stomach ache. But she insisted that it was her private part.
Blessing’s father, a trader from Ebonyi
State, works in the Eastern part of the country while his wife and the
children live in Lagos because of his wife’s work.
He was in the East when he received a
call from his wife about what had happened to their daughter. He told
his wife to take a neighbour along to go and confront Baba, who denied
everything immediately.
Baba Sani, a landlord who lives on renting out Danfo buses to commercial bus drivers, lives just two houses away from Blessing’s parents.
Blessing, an exuberant, fair
complexioned girl, was not shy when our correspondent spoke with her
about what Baba Sani did to her.
She explained that the old man usually crossed from his house to fetch water from a tap beside their house.
She said,
“On Friday, my mummy was not around and he came to fetch water (like he normally does). When he was passing in the front of our house, he asked me to follow him to come and collect biscuit.“When I got to Baba’s house, he put off my shoes and carried me to his bed. He removed my pants and lay on my chest. When I was shouting, he said I should not shout, that he would give me biscuit and N20.“When he finished, I saw blood coming out and Baba used a cloth to clean it. He said I should not tell anybody. He gave me biscuit and N20.”
Shockingly, without Blessing’s mother
knowing, Baba Sani allegedly called the girl and raped her again the
following day, a Saturday.
To dispel doubts about the girl’s
allegation, she was asked to explain the location of Baba Sani’s bedroom
inside the building and her description was found to be exact
description when our correspondent eventually paid Baba Sani a visit.
Our correspondent spoke with Baba Sani
in company of the director of Esther Child Rights Foundation, Esther
Ogwu, who the case was initially reported to by the girl’s parents.
The man, who walked with the gait of
someone approaching senility, started off by saying Blessing’s mother
was an acquaintance, even though the girl’s mother said she had never
had reason to speak to him before.
Baba Sani said,
“The girl’s mother once approached me about a month ago to lend her N500. She sent her daughter to collect it and I gave it to them. Later, the girl with her younger sister came to my house that Friday to ask for money and I gave them N20.“I did not do anything. I don’t know anything about what they have accused me of. God is my witness. I am just surprised about why I am the one the girl is accusing of such a thing.”
When asked how the girl could possibly know where his bedroom was in the house, the old man said he had no idea.
Blessing’s mother said she had many
other co-tenants and neighbours and said she couldn’t have imagined
asking Baba Sani to lend her any money.
A test conducted at the Mirabel Sexual
Assault Referral Centre at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital,
Ikeja, Lagos, confirmed that the girl was indeed raped as lacerations
on her private part were consistent with sexual assault.
The case was reported at the Gowon Estate Police Division.
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