Man tells court how family friend allegedly raped his 12-year-old daughter

ARINZE NWAFOR, Lagos

A witness, (name withheld) had told an Ikeja Sexual Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Court how his family friend, Emmanuel Ejima allegedly defiled his 12-year-old daughter.

The prosecution witness, who was the father of the alleged survivor, told the court that the defendant, Ejima, threatened his daughter that he would kill her parents if she ever told anyone about the alleged rape.

He told the court that the defendant, also known as Ugo Emmanuel, allegedly raped his daughter on May 29, 2022, but he got to know when the survivor opened up to him after hiding it for some time.

He revealed that the defendant lived beside his family in the same face-me-I-face-you compound and that they “Were moving like family friends.

He told the court he trusted the defendant.

“My attention was brought towards my daughter’s bleeding around the time but I thought she was menstruating and bought her sanitary pads but it did not stop so we took her to the hospital.

The witness said the hospital in Kirikiri revealed to him that his daughter suffered from an infection and they charged him N180,000 for her treatment. 

He needed help with raising the money as he told the court, “I had financial struggles which led me to seek help from people, including the defendant, a generator worker.”

The witness said it was on a Sunday after he had returned from an outing with his wife that he learned of the alleged rape of his daughter when his wife reported seeing her step out of the defendant’s house. 

He said, “When we came back from an outing one Sunday, my wife could not find my daughter in the room so she shouted her name but she did not answer. 

“My wife later came back and told me that she saw our daughter come out of Ugo Emma’s house.

“I asked my daughter to tell me what happened or I would bring a cane for her and she opened up and told me that Ugo Emmanuel forcefully had sex with her on the day he (defendant) sent her on an errand to buy food.

“She told me the man covered her face with a pillow, while she was struggling, and he had sex with her which led to the bleeding.”

The witness said his daughter told him that the defendant had threatened her not to tell anyone or he would kill her father and mother (witness’ wife).

He said he became angry after he heard his daughter’s account of the alleged rape.

“I wanted to carry a machete and go see what the man would do, but one woman told me to calm down and not take the law in my hands.

“So I went to the police station at Kirikiri and reported the case but the officer I met asked me to go outside and buy a pen. On my way out, I saw Ugo Emmanuel on his motorcycle going to work.

“I made a sign to some of the police officers outside and when I called out to him (the defendant) to stop, the officers arrested him,” the witness said.

He further told the court that he made a statement at the police station and that the officers took his daughter to another hospital where she was examined.

Under cross-examination by the Defense Counsel, Mr John Okoloise, the witness confirmed he had quarrelled with the defendant over electricity bills at one time.

Okoloise also asked the witness whether he received a gift of a school bag and sandals that the defendant gave his daughter and the witness answered in the affirmative.

“I received the gift but I did not know at the time that this was why he was buying a gift for my daughter,” the witness said.

The defence counsel asked the witness whether his daughter had ever lied to him and he said no.

“My daughter has never lied to me but she only hid the truth of the defilement earlier because the defendant threatened to kill her parents.

Justice Rahman Oshodi adjourned the case to May 31 for the continuation of the trial.