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See 14-Year-Old Sickle Cell Patient’s Disheartening Ordeal After Alleged Rape By Stepfather

See 14-Year-Old Sickle Cell Patient’s Disheartening Ordeal After Alleged Rape By Stepfather

14-year-old Tomilola, her brother, Rahman, 10, both sickle cell patients, and their 42-year-old mother, Felicia (pseudo names), have sadly been forced to live in a rusty wooden kiosk in Shagari Estate on the Iyana Ipaja – Ipaja Road in Lagos after Tomilola was allegedly raped by her 60-year-old stepdad, Joseph Salako.

When Punch and the Executive Director, Esther Child Rights Foundation, Mrs. Esther Ogwu, visited the woman and her children at the kiosk during the week, it was an extremely sorry sight to behold.

Felicia, who married Salako after losing her first husband in 2008 in a motor accident, told Punch their woes began when she caught her husband, Tomilola’s stepfather, raping the teenager in July, 2015. After she confronted him, they were allegedly sent packing by the suspected rapist and have been living on the street since then due to lack of funds to rent an apartment.

Tomilola, who is visibly distressed, said her stepfather had formed the habit of sleeping with her at any slight opportunity and threatening her never to divulge the secret or face death.

Recounting her ugly experience, she said it all began one afternoon when she came back from school and went to greet her stepfather upstairs.

She said: “My mum had told me to always go and greet him anytime I got home. So, when I came back from school, I went to greet him. I was about leaving when he called me and said he wanted to tell me something that I must not tell anyone.

He said he wanted to sleep with me. I refused but before I could run away, he carried me and took me inside. He tore my panties and ‘did it’. I was crying because it was paining me but he didn’t stop. I tried to shout but he covered my mouth. When he finished, he cleaned my legs and his ‘thing’ and warned me that he would kill me if I told anyone.

That was not the only time he did it. At other times, he would call me and tell me to ‘suck’ him and because I usually refused, he would slap me. Sometimes, in the midnight, he would come down from the bed and ‘do it’ with me. If I tried to shout, he would cover my mouth and ask if I was ready to die. I would have to endure the pain and just keep quiet.

The day my mum saw us was the fifth time. When my mum came in, he was already doing it but when he saw the ray of light from the torch my mum was holding, he quickly stood up and went to block her. He would always promise to buy me anything I needed. We had to leave because of the incident.”

Felicia, who has an 8-year-old daughter for Salako currently living with him, reported the matter at the Gowon Estate police station, despite alleged threats by Salako’s children.

Salako was arrested but allegedly released the following day because he promised to pay N50,000 for ‘damages.’ Felicia said she was constrained to accept because of the threats by Salako’s children and the need to raise money to take care of the children.

She added that one of Salako’s daughters later took her to the State High Court premises at Ikeja and made her swear an affidavit that she would not press charges, taking advantage of the fact that she is not literate.

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She added that in addition to the meagre incomes she is able to get, Tomilola has also been helping in sustaining the family by washing plates at a canteen.

She also said Salako had been persuading her to come back home but has decided never to do so, even though she has an eight-year-old girl for him. She added that her major concern now is getting urgent help for her sickly children who have not been able to go to school because of their health condition.

Salako however insisted that he “didn’t do anything to the girl.” He said Felicia packed out of the house for a reason unknown to him, adding that he had been calling her to come back home and does not know where she is.

When asked about his arrest by the police, he admitted he was arrested but refused to disclose the reason.

He said: “As I’m speaking to you, I don’t know where she is. I didn’t do anything to her daughter. The money I’m paying to the police is the money she asked from me sometime ago. I’ve paid her N25,000 already.”

The Divisional Police Officer, Gowon Estate Police Station, CSP Festus Otabor, explained that the police was yet to find sufficient evidence to prosecute the suspect, adding that Felicia had sworn to an affidavit not to press charges against her husband since there wasn’t enough evidence to validate the allegation.

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