A civil servant from Edo State, Mr Vincent Ugiagbe, narrates to VANESSA OTULU how his 13-year-old son died after being allegedly sodomised by a 48-year-man in the neighbourhood
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Vincent Ugiagbe. I am from Edo State. I am a civil servant; I am a chief clerical officer.
You recently lost one of your children. What exactly happened to him?
I had five children. The one that fell sick and later died was my last born. He was 13 years old. He came down with a terrible fever, so we rushed him to the health centre. We ran a test, which showed that his kidneys were infected. The doctors prescribed some drugs for him. But after taking the drugs, his condition did not improve. The doctors were wondering what could be wrong, because other people with similar cases got well and were discharged. After some time, in order to minimise the hospital bill, he was discharged and we were given dates for check-up appointments.
It was during the second visit to the hospital that my son spoke about being sexually molested; he spoke about homosexuality and all that he had experienced, which I didn’t get to know about on time. He said he was lured into the act.
Did he mention the name of the person that molested him?
He gave the name of a man, Ovie, a 48-year-old man who lives not too far from our street.
What kind of relationship existed between your late son and the man?
My son and his friends usually went to the man’s house to play. The man is always with children and always gives them money. There was a day I had to tell my son to stop moving close to the man because we could not tell what exactly was going on.
Is the man living alone; what is his occupation?
According to people and from the police statement, he has three children. They are all males and his wife is dead; his children reside in Delta State.
At the time you warned your son against moving close to the man, what aroused your suspicion about him?
I suspected him particularly because of the money he always gives to the children. My wife and I warned our son because we were curious about the source of the man’s money.
How did your son die?
Rather than improve, his condition got worse and he had to be placed on oxygen. He could no longer speak. He eventually died last week after we had spent so much money. I really don’t know if I am going to come out of the debt incurred. I borrowed some money from the bank and also from friends. I’m in a huge debt. I can no longer sleep. I have not settled the hospital bill for his last admission and unfortunately, my son is dead and right now he is in the mortuary.
Have you reported the case to the police?
Yes, I have. The man has been arrested. He is responsible for my son’s death and I want him to be sentenced to death. He should also die, just as he killed my son.
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