By Frank Ulom
BEKWARRA (CONVERSEER) – Traditional rulers in Cross River State have allegedly demanded three goats from a 60-year-old man accused of raping a 5-year-old.
The incident which happened in the Bekwarra Local Government Area of the state has sparked outrage among netizens who questioned the judgment and morality of the traditional leadership in recent times.
According to a source, Achoda Faith Ajor, who visited the victim and her mother on Sunday morning, the suspect, identified as Uncle Obogo, allegedly confessed to the crime before the traditional rulers in Bekwarra.
“The man who defiled her is about 60 years old, and he has already admitted to the crime,” Achoda alleged. “The mother is crying out for help. She is seeking justice for her 5-year-old baby – a child who cannot speak for herself.”
Sharing his conversation with the victim’s mother on Facebook on Sunday, Achoda said: “When I visited the mother this morning, she explained to me what happened.
“She said her daughter was crying on the day of the incident. She also mentioned that the man, who is their neighbour, kept calling the little girl to come to him. The child refused and later told her mother that Uncle Obogo usually touched her in a way that made her uncomfortable.
“At first, the mother did not believe her daughter. She called the child again to repeat what she had said. The little girl then narrated the same story, explaining that the man had been doing this whenever no one was around.
“The mother still found it hard to believe, so she came up with a plan. She decided to leave the child at home with someone secretly watching over her.
“According to the boy assigned to watch the girl, the man began calling her again and attempted the same inappropriate act. The boy quickly ran to the farm where the mother was working and told her everything he had observed.
“They reported the matter to the Clean Head (local authority). During the discussion, the man admitted what he had been doing and pleaded for forgiveness. The chief then imposed a fine, asking him to bring three goats.
“I asked the mother if she was satisfied with the judgment. She said she was not, but she had nowhere else to take the matter.”
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Achoda decried that such a sensitive case would be sitting with the traditional stool instead of the police. “…instead of this case being with the police, where it belongs, it is sitting in the hands of traditional rulers.
“A case this serious should never be handled locally. A child has been violated. A future has been wounded. This is not the kind of issue you settle with goats and crates of beer. That is not justice. That is silence. That is covering a wound with a leaf,” Achoda fumed.
When our reporter reached out to Barr. James Ibor, Principal Counsel of Basic Rights Counsel Initiative (BRCI), said, “We are on it.”
BRCI is a non-profit organisation in Nigeria working in the trenches since 2011 to promote and protect the fundamental rights of children and indigent women. The organisation has secured the conviction of over seven rapists in the past two years.
