A trader, Joy Okhuba, tells FATTEH HAMID how her 12-year-old niece was allegedly defiled by a resident in the Ilaje area of Ondo State and why she’s demanding justice for the victim
How related are you to the girl?
My name is Joy Okhuba from Ondo State. I’m 54 years old and a single mother of one. I’m a trader. I’ll start by saying she is my younger sister’s child who I have been taking care of since she was two years old.
It was reported that she was defiled by an unidentified man. How did it happen?
I ran a restaurant business and everything was going well with me and my family until a few months ago. Bose along with my children all attended a private school during that time. However, an incident happened that led to the loss of everything I had a few months ago and made everything difficult for the family. I could no longer afford her private school tuition fees and because I didn’t want her to stop her education, we moved to a government-owned school. Bose is currently preparing to take the common entrance examination to enable her to attend secondary school. A few weeks back, she approached me and advised me to start making puff puff to sell and that she would also hawk to make sales. I considered it after thinking about it for a while because we sincerely need all the help we can get in the house at the moment. Last Friday (June 2, 2023), when she returned from school, I made some puff puff and gave them to her.
After 3pm, she came back home to eat but with no sales. After eating, she said she was going to go out again to try to make sales. When it was 6pm, I didn’t see Bose, so I told one of my neighbours going out to please tell her to return home even if she had made no sales. At some minutes to 7pm, Bose came in tired and unkempt and while asking what had happened to her and why she was looking unusual, she fainted. I ran to her only to realise that she was bleeding heavily and I became destabilised. Immediately, I took her to a hospital but the medical workers told me that they could not accept her. It was at the second hospital we took her to that she was accepted and treated till she became conscious.
When she became conscious, did she tell you what happened to her?
When she woke up, she explained that when she got to Sabo, she saw a Hausa man who bought items worth N200 from her and asked her to come back. She said the man asked her to enter a place called Omonira where traders sell beans and that if she didn’t find him at the spot he bought the puff puff from her, he would be there (at Omonira). So, she looked for him but didn’t find him there. Then she went ahead to the place he told her (at Omonira). When she got there, she said the man saw her and asked her to follow her to collect her money which she did. When she got to the house, she stated that he stretched his hands to give her money and as soon as she tried to take the money, he covered her mouth with his hands, choked her, dragged her into a room and forced himself on her.
Where exactly did this happen?
It happened in an area called Igbokoda in the Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State. I’m sad, pained and saddened, but I’m happy that she didn’t die or wasn’t killed. If any of that had happened, I would not have known where to look.
Has this ever happened to her?
This kind of thing has never happened before. The man who defiled her is a devilish being. Bose has yet to grow breasts, why will you defile such a little girl or even sexually abuse anyone at all? I blame the recent events that led to me becoming someone a child has to suggest hawking to. She used to attend a private school but, when things became hard, I sold almost everything I had; my TV and freezer were all sold. In fact, I didn’t know when I fell ill. It was my older daughter that came from Akure to treat me. I’m still receiving treatment as I speak with you.
Bose is too young to have gone through that (defilement). She bled so much that I was scared that I would lose her. Imagine someone bleeding to the extent that she fainted, it was not a small issue. I feel really terrible. Bose was just two years old when I took her in from her mother who is my younger sister and started taking care of her. She is 12 years old.
What is her state of health at the moment and what type of treatment has she received?
At the hospital we took her to, she was given treatment that made her conscious. However, we had to request a discharge because there was no money; even the money that was used to give her the little treatment she has so far received was borrowed. At the hospital, we were advised to take her to a medical facility for a scan and some tests, but honestly, there’s no money to do these at the moment.
What was the response of the Hausa community when this happened? Has the suspect been apprehended by the police?
Yes, he was brought back to Akure from Kebbi State where he fled to. I must commend the sarki of the Hausa community for his response to this issue when we reported to him. When we reported to him, he confirmed who he (the suspect) was from the description and location given by Bose. He inquired and realised that the Hausa man ran away to Kebbi State. After learning about this, the sarki devised a plan. He reached out to the police in the man’s community in Kebbi State, explaining what he had done. After that, he called the man under the guise that he wanted to send him on an errand to get something from the police station. When he got to the police station, he was apprehended by the police. They (the Hausa community) were called and he was questioned to know whether the accusation was true and he didn’t deny it. He confirmed that he defiled her. The Ondo State Police Command made an arrangement and he was brought back to Akure. We had to travel to Akure from Ilaje.
Now that he has been arrested, what are the police saying?
We were asked to get a doctor’s report. Meanwhile, the doctor has assured us that any day he is needed to testify on the issue concerning Bose, he would be ready. The officer in charge of the case said he will consult with the doctor to get the report. They said that the doctor’s report was important in the prosecution of the suspect. No one is happy about it. Everyone feels sad and bad especially for her because she was such a lively and great child to everyone around.
How much help have you received in a bid to get justice?
The truth is we don’t have anyone. Yes, we got a volunteer who came down to Igbokoda and has been of immense help. In fact, she followed us down to Akure. We don’t have anyone to help us, I’m just praying that God brings a helper that will help us get the justice that she deserves and also find a way to have her treated.
You mentioned that her common entrance examination was near, when is it supposed to be held, and what is her mental and physical condition now?
Yes, her common entrance exam was supposed to be held soon but I’m not sure that in her current state, she has the mental capacity to take an exam. The man responsible should go and face the court and whatever the verdict the judge gives, he should deal with it. Maybe when he gets his punishment, Bose, someone like me and others who are concerned too will be able to have peace from the shock the issue brought to us because no matter how long it is, for someone like Bose who’s the victim in this case, she will continue to live with that trauma that she was defiled by a man when she was little. I’m just so pained that it was my condition that led her to hawk. If not for that, she would not have had to go out of the house and have such a cruel thing done to her.
What type of punishment do you think the suspect deserves if convicted?
We are not the government and we are not the lawmakers. So, I can’t say. Whether it is the death penalty or a jail term, the court will decide whatever he deserves. We are requesting the government to come to our aid and ensure that the culprit is punished for the crime he committed. Also, Bose has a lot of tests and scans that the hospital asked us to do for her, but there’s no way to make that possible for her due to the present economic situation I and my family are in. However, if there are good samaritans that want to help us to give her the medical treatment, we will be glad and it will go a long way in stabilising her from the horrible and vile abuse she had to go through in the hands of that
