Charles Ekwe, a 48-year-old man, has been arrested in the Ojo area of Lagos, for having carnal knowledge of his wife’s 13-year-old niece, who refers to him as “daddy”.
The suspect was arrested on Monday by the Gender Unit of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Lagos State Command.
Narrating her ordeal on Wednesday, the victim, who has been living with her aunt and the suspect since she was nine, said Ekwe slept with her on many occasions.
She further revealed that the suspect sleeps with her in his shop and at home, whenever her aunt is not around.
“Each time daddy wanted to do it, he would show me blue film (pornography) on his phone.
“He did it many times. I cannot count the number of times he did it. I was scared to report to my aunty because Daddy threatened to chase me out of the house and kill me if I did,” she said.
The suspect’s wife reportedly noticed a change in the teenager’s behaviour and probed further, during which the victim opened up about her husband’s actions.
The woman then took her to a nearby hospital, where it was confirmed that the girl’s hymen had been broken.
The matter was reported to the NSCDC gender unit, which arrested the suspect.
During interrogation, the suspect claimed that he only fondled the girl’s genitals.
He, however, admitted to subjecting the teenager to watch pornography on his phone.
Ayeni Paul, NSCDC commandant in the state, while addressing journalists, said:
“The sexual abuse suspect will face the full wrath of the law and will be handed over to the appropriate agency for further investigation and prosecution.
“This is a heinous crime and all perpetrators of such, when caught, will be made to pay dearly.”
Paul said the corps will not rest on its oars in ensuring a crime-free Lagos.
He also said the ”the gender-based unit of the corps saddled with the responsibility of handling rape, domestic violence, sexual assault and defilement, as well as child abuse cases, has well-trained officers to handle such cases.”
He urged members of the public to report such cases to the command for prosecution.
Discussion about this post