A 37-year-old man, Agu Echezona Harrison, who was arrested and arraigned on Friday before an Ikeja High Court, for allegedly defiling his six-year-old daughter claimed that it was a family affair and had nothing to do with outsiders.
The suspect was said to have inserted his fingers into the private parts of his young child over a period of time before the mother got to know about the abuse and reported to the police.
The prosecuting officer, Adebayo Haroun, had earlier told the court that Harrison who was arraigned on a one-count charge of sexual assault, had committed the offence between 2013 and 2015 at his residence at 23, Rotimi Omotosho Street, Isheri Osun.
Haroun said it was Harrison’s wife, Akukwe Priscilla, who reported the case to the police, saying that the accused was fond of touching the little girl’s private part.
According to Akukwe Priscilla, she noticed an offensive odour oozing out of her daughter’s private part with frequent whitish discharge. When she asked what happened to her, the girl reportedly replied that her father had been inserting his hand into her ‘bum bum’.
Priscilla continued: “When I took my daughter to a hospital, a test was conducted and the nurses confirmed that someone has been touching her. When I confronted him [Harrison], he denied it and I angrily went to his mother to report the matter. My mother-in-law told him to stop me from escalating the issue.
”After that, in December 2013, he raped my younger sister and also tried to deny it, not knowing I had taken my sister for a test at the hospital to check the drop of sperm found inside her.
”Since it was barely 24 hours that the rape happened, I forced him to go for a test also and he did. The hospital confirmed it was a match with the one on my sister. He immediately started begging and prostrating, saying that he was sorry.
”I had felt he was truly sorry but in 2014, I started noticing same discharge from my daughter. I had to leave the house with my kids, which he later came fighting for custody, especially for my little girl.”
Justice Sedotan Ogunsanya, in her ruling, said, “The act is so rampant in the society now. In the interest of justice, I demand accelerated hearing in this matter.”
The judge then declared that the defendant should be remanded in the Kirikiri Maximum Prison and adjourned the matter till November 20, 2017 for commencement of trial.
Meanwhile, Harrison who was angry that he had been taken to a court in the case, verbally attacked some journalists who were trying to get the facts of the matter from the court.
“I will sue you people, if you write anything about me. It is a family affair and, therefore, none of your business,” he said.
He further went ahead to pour a sachet of water on a reporter who tried to take his photograph, vowing to deal with all the pressmen present.
