An 18-year-old lady has told a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja how her biological father, Folorunsho Oluwaseun, 58, sexually abused her for four years.
The victim, Iyanu, who was the first prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of her father, who is facing two charges of defilement before Justice Sybil Nwaka, said,”he deceived me when I was 12 that if he sucks my breast with his mouth, they would be as big as my peers. He also lied that once he slept with me, I would be as fat as my mates. That was how he suck my breast and slept with me several times. He did not stop at that, he warned that if I reveal what was happening, he would kill me”.
While being led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Babajide Boye, Iyanu told the court that her father started abusing her sexually when she was 12 years old in their Ikorodu home in Lagos.
She said: “I was staying with my father with my four other siblings, two boys, and two girls, in a one-room apartment. My father called me and said that my breasts were not as big as those of my mates and that he would help me suck them with his mouth so that they could get bigger like those of my mates.
“I was in JSS3 when he started. He asked me to sleep with him on the bed and he began to suck my breasts. The following day, I told my younger sister about the incident and she condemned it. The following week, he told me that I was not as fat as my mates and that he would pour sperm inside me so that I could be as fat as my peers. I allowed him to have sex with me and, thereafter, he gave me salt water to drink.”
The victim further told the court that her mother left her father’s house in 2012 as they were always having misunderstandings. She claimed that her father continued to abuse her sexually and when she told her younger sister about the sexual acts, she said it was a curse and the Bible condemns it.
“I told my dad but he said it was not a curse because God knew that he did not have a wife. I attempted to stop him but he denied my siblings and me food for days until I gave in again. He said if he continued to have sex with me, he would keep getting money to take care of us.
“My mum came but left again after about a month. He stopped when she was around and started again when she left. I didn’t tell my mum because he said I should not tell her. We usually went to the Apostolic Church camp every year and he told me that his sister reported him to his mum and rather than rebuking him, she told him not to get me pregnant. I told my sister and she said my dad’s family don’t like us at all.
“In 2016, my mother came back to stay with us. She caught us one night when my father was trying to have sex with me. She screamed and my father threatened to kill her,” she said.
Iyanu also informed the court that, thereafter, her mother took her and her siblings to Ibadan, where she was formerly residing: “I was teaching in a small school in Ibadan and we used to call him to send us money. But he would say until we come back to Ikorodu, and I didn’t want to go back. So, I went to the proprietress of the school where I taught in Ibadan and asked for salary increment. I told her that the salary I was being paid was too small for all of us to live on and she asked about my dad. I told her everything I went through in the hands of my father.
“She said she knew someone who could help me at Justice Development Peace Commission in Basorun, Ibadan. I told them all that happened and they said they would help me but I would have to come to Lagos, and they gave us a number to call at Alausa, Ikeja. I was referred to Mirabel Centre to run a test. After the test, we went back to the police station and we later went to arrest my father in Ikorodu.”
While being cross-examined by the defense counsel, Worker Oduagbaka, the victim maintained that they were living in a room, but a room was later added to it, making it a room-and-parlor.
The victim’s mother also gave her evidence before the court, giving her reasons for leaving her husband in the first place. She told the court that he accused her of spiritually impeding his progress. So, she had no choice but to leave his house for Ibadan, where she began selling foodstuff.
“I usually sent my sister to give my children gifts occasionally because their father would not let me contact them directly,” she said.
She also told the court that she was unaware of everything that happened to her daughter, as she never confided in her. She said that she did not know until she caught her husband in the act and left with her kids after he refused to accept or show any form of repentance for his act. According to her, she did that to avoid him killing her in a bid to cover up the secret.
Justice Nwaka adjourned the matter till June 21, 2018, for the continuation of trial.
