A Jos High Court on Thursday ordered the remand of 39-year-old Peter John, accused of raping his neighbour’s 9-year-old daughter.
Though the defendant pleaded not guilty to the two-count charge of rape and criminal intimidation, the judge, Justice Nafisa Musa, ordered that he should be remanded at Jos Prison.
He adjourned the case until March 20 for hearing.
Earlier, the prosecutor, Mr N.K. Tali had told the court that the defendant committed the crime on July 26, 2017, at Furaka village, Jos North Local Government Area.
“The accused, in a confessional statement, told the Police that he lured the girl to a stream and raped her.
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“He also told investigators that the little girl was a neighbour’s daughter who helped her mother in selling ‘akara.’
“John told the Police that the girl was sitting with her grandmother at their business spot when he gave her money to buy him a razor blade.
“The accused further said that he followed the girl immediately she left to buy the blade and led her to a nearby stream and had carnal knowledge of her,” the prosecutor told the court.
Tali said that the accused told the investigators that he saw blood gushing out of the victim’s private part.
“He threatened to kill her if she mentioned it to anyone, after which he returned the girl to her grandmother.
“But luck ran out on him when the grandmother noticed that the child had difficulty in walking, and upon examination, she saw blood on her private part which led to the girl exposing the accused,’’ he said.
The prosecutor told the court that a hospital examination confirmed that the girl was actually defiled.
According to him, the offences contravened Section 282(1), punishable under Section 283 and Section 396 of the Penal Code.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that if found guilty, the accused is liable to up to 21 years imprisonment.