Teenage Rape Survivor Decries Ordeal at Hands of Former Police Officer
Teenage serial rape survivor, (names withheld), has decried her ordeal at the hands of her tormentor, SP Monday Joseph Ebowemen, a retired former police officer, who also doubles as her maternal uncle.
The 15-year-old, was said to have been victimised by the suspect for four years, resulting to three pregnancies, that he forced her to abort, thereby damaging her womb.
The survivor, who is currently being treated under protection, in an exclusive interview with THISDAY, said for four consecutive years, she was raped serially by her uncle, whom she lived with. Recounting her ordeal she said the brutal abuse began when she was only 11 years at their Sangotedo residence in Ajah, Lagos. He said, “He repeatedly forced himself on me and I took in three times. He again forced me to abort the three pregnancies. I’m worried that I may not be able to give birth in future." According to the teenager and niece of the perpetrator, the ex-officer usually had series of prolonged carnal intercourse with her until his arrest on July 19, this year.
“He would ask me to go and lay his bed for him and before you know it he is already in the room. He would undress me. Whenever I refused him, he would threaten that he would stop paying my school fees.
"For this reason, I missed classes in school. Last year, he impregnated me and then took me to one hospital. They injected me and when I woke up, I saw myself at home having pains."
The case is currently under investigation at the Lagos State Command Gender Unit.
According to her rescuers at Child Protection Network (CPN), the ex-police officer, who is also a grandfather, has been defiling the minor without hindrance until she was rescued.
According to CPN, when they delved into the case, some elders from the suspect's hometown arrived Lagos to see how they can settle the criminal offence of child defilement and serial abortions out of court.
“The child is currently in an undisclosed orphanage in the state since her mother, Mrs. Mary Ebowemen, warned her not to show up at the house if she (the victim) m appears in court for the hearing,” CPN told THISDAY.
Meanwhile, the Ben Bruce Foundation has partnered the good whistle blower (name withheld) who helped her, in granting the survivor scholarship and the necessary psycho-social support.
The coordinator of the foundation, Mrs. Olu-Adebiyi Ore, told THISDAY that the informant took the survivor to Mirabel Centre for examination and afterwards kept the child safe in her house when her mother threatened to disown her if she reported or appeared in court.
Ore, who said they have been receiving threats noted that they have received various calls from families and friends that the case be dropped and settled in a community way. While the rescuers await the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP), the suspect is already in Kirikiri prison, pending when the case will be brought again before Samuel Ilori Magistrate Court, Ogba, Lagos, on October 8, for hearing.