A Ghanaian security man, Santana Obend, 49, was on Monday charged before an Ikeja High Court with raping his neighbour’s 14-year-old daughter.
Mr. Obend, who resides at No. 9, Ajegunle Close, Isheri, Lagos State, is facing a charge of defilement.
He, however, denied the charge.
According to the state prosecutor, T.M. Ashafa, Mr. Obend, who is partially blind, committed the offence at about 9 a.m., on August 7, 2015 at his residence.
“Obend who is a neighbour to the complainant (name withheld) lured her into his apartment where he had forceful sexual intercourse with her.
“He allegedly kept her in his room against her will for two days until she was discovered there by her family,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that Obend had to be assisted before he could enter into the dock due to his disability.
Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye on noticing his disability made inquiries about his state of health.
According to his defence counsel, Emmanuel Umsu, his health deteriorated after he was remanded at the Ikoyi Prisons by a magistrates’ court for the alleged offence.
“My Lord, my client had excellent sight before he was remanded in prison by the magistrates’ court.
“After his remand, his eyesight deteriorated badly,” he said.
Mr. Umsu also told the court that there was an intention from the complainant to drop the case against the defendant.
“A member of a non-governmental organisation told me that the complainant wanted to drop the case against the defendant,” he said.
But an official from the Ikoyi Prisons, however, disputed Mr. Umsu’s claims.
He said that the accused had always been partially sighted.
Justice Ipaye told the defence counsel that the case was now between the state and the accused.
“The victim is no longer the complainant; rather the state is now the complainant.
“The case is adjourned to April 25 and 26 for trial,” the judge said.
No comments:
Post a Comment