Man allegedly rapes seven-year-old girl

A 30-year-old man has allegedly raped a seven-year-old girl in Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria’s South-east.

The suspect, Chinonso Nwaebonyi, hails from Izzi Local Government Area of Ebonyi State.

Chidimma Ikeanyionwu, a media aide to the State Commissioner for Women and Social Welfare, Ify Obinabo, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday.

Ms Ikeanyionwu did not indicate when the incident happened.

The media aide said the suspect has been arrested by the ministry and handed over to the police.

She said the suspect would be interrogated and charged to court.

The media aide said the arrest of the suspect followed a report to the ministry by the survivor’s mother.

She pointed out that the survivor’s parents birthed her and her twin brother after ten years of childlessness.

‘How I was raped for five times’ —- Survivor

The survivor (name withheld) reportedly told the ministry that the suspect began to rape her when she and her twin brother started going to a compound nearby to play during the holiday.

She said, during the holiday period, the suspect raped her five times which often occurred on Mondays and Tuesdays.

The survivor added that her mother got to know about the incident after she wanted to bathe her and observed that her daughter’s private part was swollen.

According to her, the mother quickly visited and complained to the suspect’s guardians on hearing about the alleged rape.

She subsequently visited a health facility for medical examination before reporting to the ministry.

Suspect’s confession

Ms Ikeanyionwu, the media aide, said Mr Nwaebonyi initially denied the allegation, but later confessed to committing the crime.

She added that the suspect claimed he raped the survivor only once.

Mr Nwaebonyi, according to the statement, claimed he did not force the survivor, but only asked her to “raise her clothes and lie down on the ground.”

Prohibited in Nigeria

Nigeria, in 2015, enacted the Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act, which outlawed all forms of violence against women and girls, including rape, female circumcision and forceful ejection.

Offenders, on conviction, face life imprisonment or maximum of 14-year jail term, depending on the age of the offender and type of violence committed.

Several persons have been convicted by various courts for rape.

An Ado-Ekiti High Court, in July 2022, sentenced a 49-year-old man, Dele Adeyanju, to four years imprisonment for raping an 11-year-old girl.

A Bauchi High Court, in 2017, sentenced two middle aged men to life in prison for raping a 40-year-old woman and plucking her eyes.