A 12-year-old minor has said she was raped by hoodlums while escaping from her aunt, one Chigozie, whom she accused of torturing her at her grandma’s house in the Itamaga area of Ikorodu, Lagos State.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the minor fled from home to avoid being assaulted, as the men took advantage of her and sexually abused her.
Some residents were said to have found her wandering on the road and rescued her.
Speaking with PUNCH Metro, a good Samaritan, Dupe Onikosi, said the victim had different injuries on her body.
Onikosi noted that after efforts to reunite her with her family failed, she was later taken to a police station in the community.
She said, “When we found her, she said she had nowhere to stay and she had been sleeping on the street for about four days because her aunt maltreated her where she stayed at her grandma’s place. She said her aunt used a hot knife to burn her body; there were injuries all over her body.
“We went to her grandma’s house and when we saw one of their neighbours, she said she was aware of what happened to her and that Mmesoma always stole. I asked if that was why a hot knife was used to inflict injuries all over her body, but she said the aunt refused to heed their advice not to do it.
“Another neighbour, Iya Wasiu, called the aunt and while speaking to her on the phone, she started insulting everyone. She was not even sober about what she did, so we took the girl to a police station, and a police officer was detailed to arrest the aunt. She also wrote her statement and was detained.”
Onikosi said the child also accused people in the neighborhood of raping her when she fled from home, adding that the victim’s mother died during childbirth.
“The girl has always been sleeping on the streets. Many men, including the gateman in the neighbourhood, slept with her. She said she recognised all of them.
“Sometimes, she stays on the street and goes back home, other times, she stays on the street for two weeks. But as of the time we saw her, she said she had been sleeping on the street for about four days,” she added.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said Chigozie had been transferred to the Gender Unit of the command, adding that investigation into the case was ongoing.
He said, “The victim was taken to the Itamaga Health Centre in Ikorodu for test and treatment. The suspect is in custody as we are conducting a preliminary investigation.”
(Punch)
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