By: Sandra Ani
A medical practitioner, Dr Alagbe Oyedeji, on Tuesday told an Ikeja Domestic Violence and Sexual Offences Court how a father allegedly used his fingers to test his 12-year-old daughter’s virginity, and subsequently defiling her.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Oyedeji, a consultant for the Mirabel Centre, made the revelation at the trial of Emmanuel Idoko, a 37-year-old commercial motorcyclist, for allegedly sexually assaulting his daughter with his fingers.
Oyedeji, is a medical doctor, who has worked for over 12-years at the Department of Family Medicine at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja.
While being led in evidence by Mr A.O. Alagbe, the state prosecutor, he said that Idoko’s daughter was referred to the Mirabel Centre by the office of the Divisional Police Officer of Ketu Police Station in Nov. 28, 2017.
“The client declared in her history that her father though not married to her mother, had her and her male sibling living with him. Her ordeal started in 2016, a year before she was referred to the Mirabel Centre.
“She said her father came home and said that he heard from people that she was no longer a virgin and he needed to test her to see if it was true.
“He forced her to undress and said he will use his finger to test her, the client was reluctant. He scolded her and eventually did it with his fingers.
“He also said that he would use his penis to examine her and she refused. He beat her and he subsequently, started torturing her in the home because she kept turning down his requests,” the doctor said.
Oyedeji said that Idoko’s daughter revealed that she was given soft drinks by her father, which made her fall asleep whenever she drank them.
He said: “she usually felt uncomfortable whenever she woke up in the morning. It was her sleepy nature that called the attention of her teacher who wanted to know why she was always sleeping in school.
“She had to reveal her ordeal to the class teacher, who initially did nothing. The experience persisted until she was in another class and her former teacher had to report to the new teacher.
“The new teacher had to take it up. The father was arrested and she was taken to a shelter run by a non-governmental organisation.”
Oyedeji said he conducted physical and systemic findings on the child, which revealed signs of physical and sexual abuse. He gave a detailed account of his findings to the court.
“On physical examination from head to toe, significant findings were on her laps. She had multiple linear pattern bruises which she declared was sustained from being beaten with cane by her father.
“On systemic examination of her genitalia, the urethra orifice, inner were reddish and she had a ragged shaped hymen, the floor of the vaginal entry (posterior fourchette) was reddish.
“Her anal opening was loosen further revealing areas of laceration and areas of redness. A urine sample was taken to test her for pregnancy and it was negative.
“At this point I came to my conclusion that the client’s verbal declaration, physical injury sustained on her thighs and anogenital findings are all in keeping with recent and previous forceful penetration of the client’s vagina and anus,” he said.
While being cross-examined by Mr Adeyemi Adegbite, Idoko’s defence counsel, Oyedeji when shown a copy of his client’s medical report which was dated Nov. 21, 2017, admitted that he had given an incorrect date of the referral of the child to the Mirabel Centre.
“I have testified in different matters in two courts today. I confused the dates. I take back the earlier referral date of Nov. 28, 2017 that I had mentioned,” he said.
According to the prosecution, Idoko committed the offence of sexual assault by penetration between July to November, 2017 at his residence located at Akewusola Street, Oworoshoki, Lagos.
“He sexually assaulted his 12-year-old daughter by penetrating her vagina by using his finger,” Alagbe said.
The offences contravene Section 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.
Justice Sybil Nwaka adjourned the case until April 3 for continuation of trial.