An Ogba Chief Magistrate Court in Lagos on Wednesday refused the bail application of a 38-year-old man, Onyekachi Nnabuife, who allegedly had carnal knowledge of his nine-year-old step-daughter.
The Magistrate, Mrs B. O. Osunsanmi, ordered that Nnabuife be remanded in prison custody pending legal advice from the Lagos State Department of Public Prosecution.
The accused person was dragged before the court on a two-count charge of defilement and assault. If found guilty, he could be jailed for 12 years.
The police said that Nnabuife was married to the girl’s mother, who had moved into the home of the accused person with her daughter after the union.
The police added that its investigation showed that the defendant abused his step-daughter from July 2019 to August 2019, and was always warning her never to tell her mother.
The prosecutor, Superintendent Ezekiel Ayorinde, said that the girl’s mother eventually started suspecting her husband on the matter.
Ayorinde said, “The woman then asked her daughter if she was feeling fine. After much prompting, the girl opened up to her mother and narrated how her step-father had sexually abused her whenever she was not around.
“The mother, who was visibly shocked and embittered, went to the Family Support Unit in Ikotun where she first reported the matter. The police then moved in to arrest Mr Onyekachi.
“During interrogation, the police were able to establish a case bordering on rape and assault against the accused person.”
The court did not take the defendant’s plea after the prosecutor asked it to refer the matter to the DPP for advice.
Magistrate Osunsanmi adjourned the case till September 23, 2019.
