Court Remands Man For Raping Daughters

The Chief Magistrate Court 3 presided over by the Chief Magistrate Zinnah O. Aliko has remanded in prison custody one Mr. Michael Akpan Isaiah for alledgely having carnal knowledge of his daughters without their consent.
Mr. Isarah, a 41-year-old man who resides at Borokiri Sandfield Area of Port Harcourt and hails from Akwa Ibom State has been accused of raping his three daughters age 17,11 and 7 respectively.
He is being tried on a three court charge of having carnal knowledge of his first daughter, without her concert which is an offence punishable under section 358 of the criminal code, cap 37, Vol 11, laws of Rivers State of Nigeria 1999.
He is also accused of defiling his eleven(11) year-old daughter some time in April which is also an offence punishable under section 218 of the criminal code cap 37, Vol 11, laws of Rivers State of Nigeria 1999.
The charge sheet made available to The Tide also reveals that sometime in May, this year he also had unlawful carnal knowledge of his third daughter of seven (7) years which is also an offence punishable under section 218 of the criminal code, cap 37 Vol 11, laws of Rivers State of Nigeria 1999.
Barr Fortune Ada Ndah, a member of the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) who stood on behalf of the complainants revealed to the court that the accused did not just rape his daughters but also beat them up mercilessly thereby inflecting pain on them before taking advantage of them.
She therefore advised mothers to be very vigilant, watch out for their daughters especially the minor ones.
She went further to say that mothers should guard their female children closely and advised that mothers whose husbands were practically doing nothing should go with their female children to wherever they go and warned that mothers shouldn’t leave their daughters alone with their fathers, uncles, etc to avoid these occurrences.
The accused, however, pleaded guilty to the offence and claimed that he did not know what came over him.
The Chief Magistrate Zinnah Alikor therefore directed that the accused be remanded in prison custody pending when the Director of Public Prosecution (DPP) would give his advice.

Boma Ikiriko