The teen girl who told Justice Abiola Soladoye that the incident took place in her mother’s shop, said she was 16 years old when Mamuda raped her.
The victim, who was led in evidence in chief by the state prosecuting counsel, Olusola Soneye, after identifying the defendant, told the court that she was in her mother’s shop while her aunt was on her way to the market when the truck driver covered her mouth with a white handkerchief and raped her.
She narrated that the defendant threatened her that he would kill her if she told anybody that he raped her.
“After he raped me, he threatened me that if I tell my mummy, he will kill me. When my mummy found out that I was pregnant, that was when she knew that I was raped.
“My mummy took me to the hospital, afterward the doctor examined me and confirmed that I was pregnant and I later gave birth to a baby boy,” the victim said.
During cross-examination by the defence counsel Kingsley Uzoze, the victim maintained that she was raped by the defendant and that she gave birth to a baby who is now six months old.
When asked if there was anybody around when she was raped, she told the court that there was nobody in the shop when the incident happened.
The victim’s grandfather, who testified as the second prosecution witness, said “We saw my granddaughter pregnant and my wife examined her and called the doctor, when we asked her who did this to her, she pointed at the defendant.”
The witness stated that after the victim pointed at the defendant, the defendant agreed and stated that at most he would marry her.
He added, “We took the defendant and my daughter to the police station and the defendant made a statement to the police that they should beg me to allow him to marry my daughter and that was the last time I saw him.
“She has now given birth to the child a baby boy.”
On cross-examination, he said the incident happened at about 5. am, that it was out of sympathy that he allowed the truck driver to park his truck in front of his house.
He said, “The truck drivers were about 12, but when they wanted to evict them from my street, I allowed the defendant to park in front of my house out of sympathy as there was no space for them to park in the area.
“My daughter went to open her mother’s shop when the defendant rushed to rape her. We didn’t even know that anything happened until her stomach was protruding.”
He further stated that the truck driver usually sleeps in the truck and that she was 16 years old when the incident happened.
However, the case was adjourned till November 8, 2023, for continuation of trial.
