(10), whose father had been sleeping with for two years until they
were rescued and he was apprehended in July 2013; and Susan (19), who
allegedly had two children for her pastor-father, our correspondent
reports on the multi-dimensional concern about child sexual abuses in
the country and the opinions of stakeholders.
This correspondent obtained the address of Bola and Tolu's mother,
Kemi, which she had submitted to officials who took custody of her
children following the arrest of her husband in July.
The address indicates she resides at Agugu in Ibadan, Oyo State but a
visit to the said address showed Kemi was not living there. The look
on the face of a young man who was seen at house No 25 showed
confusion.
"Nobody by that name lives here," he said simply. The phone line Kemi
had given to officials always indicates that it is switched off.
Our correspondent could not get Kemi to state why she had not visited
her children since their father was arrested.
Alarming increase in child rape
These are perilous times for the Nigerian girl-child. A sexual
predation with a craving for little children stalks the streets like
an invisible monster.
Bola, Tolu and Susan are just three of the many children who have been
sexually abused or raped by their "primary care givers." Many more are
being raped by strangers or neighbours.
But the culture of don't-ask-don't-tell in many parts of the country
makes it impossible to have an accurate data on the rate of abuses.
However, once in a while, some victims summon the courage to speak up
as in the case of a seven-year-old daughter of Sylvester Ehijele, who
accused his father of rape in March 2013.
While the girl said her 49-year-old father had sex with her on a daily
basis whenever her mother was not at home, the mother, Margaret,
accused Sylvester of raping their 23-year-old daughter when she was
much younger. The man did not stop there, he also allegedly defiled
his one-year-old granddaughter.
This correspondent went in search of the family in Ejigbo area of
Lagos to find out how the family dealt with the issue after the man's
arrest. But neighbours said the family had since relocated to their
village, perhaps to escape stigmatisation. No one knew their address.
A Consultant in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Federal
Neuro-Psychiatric Hospital, Lagos, Dr. Mashidat Mojeed-Bello, said in
cases she had seen, only few victims summoned the courage to disclose
the unpleasant event.
A sociologist, Mr. Monday Ahibogwu, said his studies suggest that rape
cases are usually brought to the knowledge of authorities by third
parties as is the case in that of Bola, Tolu and Susan.
A lot of recent reports have suggested that very young children are
increasingly being sexually abused in the country.
The Director of the Esther Child Rights Foundation, Mrs. Esther Ogwu,
whose foundation has handled many of such cases in the last five years
of her operation, said in March, she was alerted to a case in which
the young uncle of a four-month-old girl raped her through the anus.
"The girl's anus tore to the extent that the doctors laboured so hard
to repair it. The toddler suffered so much. The culprit ran away and
his brother, who is the father of the victim, accused his wife of
cooking up the allegation against his kin. The woman eventually left
Lagos for her village in shame. I don't know if the baby survived,"
she said.
Just this month, the Ogun State Police Command arrested 26-year-old
Kehinde Adejuwon, for allegedly raping a two-year-old girl.
In Ekiti State, within the same month, a 19-year-old man was arrested
in Ado-Ekiti for raping the three-year-old daughter of his neighbour.
Also in December, a 12-year-old boy was arraigned before an Ikeja
Magistrate's Court, Lagos for indulging in "forced intercourse" with
the three-year-old daughter of a neighbour. The magistrate ordered the
arrest of the boy's parents.
Seventy-one-year-old hunter, Ganiyu Kolawole, was also arrested by the
officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps in Ondo
State for luring a seven-year-old girl with a biscuit and raping her.
Executive Secretary, Children's Anti-Corruption Initiative, a
non-governmental organisation concerned with the protection of
children, Mr. Omololu Akinwande, believes the underlying reason for
the 'epidemic' of child sexual abuses in the country is craze for
quick wealth.
Akinwande said, "We have investigated many cases of child sexual abuse
and we have come to the conclusion that the reason for the increase is
the quest for money.
"Ordinarily, one would have thought that sexual desire is the
underlying reason why many would rape children or sleep with little
children. It is more than that. This kind of behaviour is done for
money rituals.
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