From Esther Akaa, Lafia
A police officer attached to the State Intelligence Bureau, Nasarawa State Police Command (name withheld) has been accused of raping and impregnating his 15-year-old niece (name withheld), who lives with him in Lafia, the Nasarawa State capital.
The State Chairman, International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA), Rabiatu Addra made this known during a press briefing held in Lafia on Wednesday.
According to her, a whistle blower had reported to FIDA that the victim was repeatedly raped by her uncle, who is an Inspector of Police in the state.
Addra explained that the suspect, after continuously abusing the victim, got her pregnant and took her for an abortion and in the process the baby died in her womb.
She said: “The suspect tried to abort the pregnancy and in the process, the baby died in the girl’s womb. We had to as a matter of urgency pay for the evacuation of the baby. The doctors induced her to bring out the dead child and she eventually gave birth to the dead child.
“The Ministry of Justice assisted us by paying for the DNA test. They came all the way from Abuja, took the sample because the girl insisted that it was her uncle who impregnated her.
“The girl was on admission for three days and thankfully, she was treated and given antibiotics after she delivered the dead baby. She is now in a stable condition and has been discharged.
“FIDA, in conjunction with Sexual and Gender Based Violence Response team, facilitated and mobilised police officers to get the suspect arrested.
“So far, four suspects have been arrested and the matter has been transferred to the CID Juvenile and Women Centre and they are on top of the matter. They are still doing their investigations.”
The FIDA chairman assured that they will follow-up on the case until justice was served and appealed to the police to ensure a thorough investigation into the matter.
She, however, debunked online report purporting that the case is being handled by Citizen’s Center for Justice, Leadership and Peace, noting that the centre only reported the case to FIDA.
“At no point did they handle nor paid for anything regarding this case. It has become imperative to set the records straight as there has been some misrepresentation regarding the sponsorship of the investigation and status of this case on some online news medium.
“This is contrary to the report on Nasarawa Mirror and The Point Newspaper, that the case was handled by Citizen’s Centre for Justice, Development and Peace based here in Lafia,” she said.
She, therefore, called on the general public to report cases of human rights abuse to FIDA/SGBV team, who are always ready and prepared to promote, protect and serve the rights of women and children.
When contacted, Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in the state, DSP Ramhan Nansel said: “I can’t confirm because I have not been briefed on the matter.”
