A 35-year-old father of three, was on Tuesday arraigned in an Ikeja Chief Magistrates’ Court in Lagos, for allegedly defiling his six-year-old daughter. The accused, Harrison Agu, who resides at No.23, Rotimi Omotosho St., Isheri Osun, Lagos, is facing a charge of indecent treatment of a minor.
Although the accused entered a not guilty plea, the prosecutor, Insp. Simon Imhonwa, told the court that the accused had regularly defiled his 6-year-old daughter within the last 36 months. “The accused began the assault in 2013 when the child’s mother was away for the compulsory one year NYSC.
“It was during this period that the child fell ill with a serious infection in her genitals for the first time. “Thereafter, the mother of the child observed that the child’s genitals regularly produced a foul smell with discharges,” the prosecutor said. Imhonwa said that the mother took the child to the hospital where it was confirmed that the child had been defiled.
According to the prosecutor, the six-year-old told her mother that her father always asked her to remove her pants and then deep his fingers into her private part. “The mother said her child told her that Agu always asked her to remove her jeans and pants and then he will put his hand in her ‘bum bum’ (virgina) and if she refuses, he beats her,” Imhonwa said.
The prosecutor said investigation revealed that the child had been physically and emotionally abused since she was aged 3. He said that the offence contravened Section 135 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State 2011.
The Magistrate, Mrs Bola Osunsanmi, admitted the accused to bail in the sum of N500,000, with two sureties in like sum. The magistrate ordered that the file be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) for advice. The offense carries seven-year imprisonment as penalty if found guilty.