According to a Punch Metro report, serious
tragedy struck on the Benin-Auchi Expressway in
Edo State on Wednesday after a 17-year-old
pregnant r*pe victim, her uncle, an advocacy
officer identified as Promise Ezekiel, and their
driver, Paul Opashe, were killed in a road crash.
It was learnt that the victims were travelling in a
car to the Evbuoraria Magistrates’ Court, Benin,
where judgment was to be delivered in a case
involving the teenager’s father when a truck
rammed into their vehicle.
The fifth occupant of the car was said to be in a
critical condition in the hospital.
Our correspondent gathered that there was
confusion on the court premises when the
Investigating Police Officer broke the news of the
tragedy.
The magistrate and those who had gathered to
witness the ruling, reportedly broke down in tears,
as all matters slated for hearing that day were
postponed.
It was learnt that the deceased advocacy officer,
Ezekiel, and the survivor worked with a non-
governmental organisation, the Brave Heart
Initiative.
In a reaction to the tragedy, PUNCH Metro
gathered that the NGO had shut down indefinitely.
Our correspondent learnt that the teenager was
allegedly defiled by her father, identified as Jacob
Alonge, aka Ariver, many times in their house in
the Akoko Edo area of Edo State.
Alonge, 54, who was reputed to possess
diabolical powers, was alleged to have aborted
the first pregnancy that resulted from the incest.
The Brave Heart Initiative, in a statement it
issued after agreeing to take up the case in
December 2018, had said the bubble burst after
the girl was impregnated the second time.
“The Brave Heart Initiative’s current case involves
a 17-year-old girl, who had been serially abused
by her biological father. The father is known to
possess diabolical powers and engages in fetish
practices.
“The mother has been largely absent in her life,
and the victim has a lot of social issues with a
complicated mental health history.
“Her father shaved her hair as a threat of death if
she disclosed the s*xual abuse, and made her to
swear to keep the secret. She, therefore, endured
all the abuse in secrecy.
“He impregnated her last year (2017) and aborted
the pregnancy via local concoctions. She is
pregnant again and was finally able to confide in
a relative. The community has risen in her
defence. The suspect (her father) was
apprehended by the community’s vigilance group
and the police arrested him. The case is being
prepared for further investigation and prosecution.
“The scan conducted revealed that the girl is 21
weeks’ pregnant. The Brave Heart Initiative will
be registering her for antenatal and hopes to
secure a better household for her until childbirth.â€
The founder of the NGO, Priscilla Usiobaifo, in a
series of posts on the case on Facebook, had
lamented the mental condition of the 17-year-old,
praying for her full recovery.
On January 11, 2019, she announced that the
case had been adjourned till January 16 for
judgment.
She called on her friends and other NGOs to join
in witnessing the judgement.
Around 6am on the D-day, she said she had a
foreboding, which she could not explain.
Usiobaifo had stated, “No matter the outcome of
this court judgment today, it will have an
everlasting effect on this teenage girl.
“It is traumatic to see your biological father in the
dock and witness him being sentenced for a
criminal act!
“I feel very deeply about the pathetic case of this
teenage girl and engage in heartfelt prayers for
her full recovery.
“I have supported over 100 s*xual abuse
survivors, but I feel very different about this
particular case.â€
Punch Metro reports that the victim, her uncle,
the NGO worker, and the man who drove them did
not reach the court.
Usiobaifo told Punch Metro on the telephone on
Thursday that they all died in the crash.
She said, “The court was waiting for them to
arrive when the IPO broke the news of the
accident. The magistrate and everybody were
devastated and they postponed everything. The
survivor is still unstable in the hospital.
“They were all in a car when a truck rammed
them. The accident happened between 7.30am
and 8am at Ewu on the Auchi-Benin Road. There
were four casualties in all: the victim, her uncle,
my advocacy officer and the driver.â€
The founder of Project Alert on Violence against
Women and Girls, another NGO, Mrs Josephine
Effah-Chukwuma, lamented the hazards that
organisations rendering humanitarian services
were exposed to without commensurate benefits.
She said Usiobaifo, who is in her early 30s, had
been plunged into emotional and financial crises
while attempting to help a victim of abuse.
The state Police Public Relations Officer,
Nwabuifor Chidi, said he could not respond to the
incident because of the visit of President
Muhammadu Buhari to the state.
The Public Education Officer, Federal Road Safety
Corps, Bisi Kazeem, promised to call back our
correspondent.
He had yet to do so as of the time of filing this
report.
Source:
www.tori.ng/news/114627/magistrate-
breaks-down-in-tears-as-rpe-victim-dies.html
