The Lagos State Domestic and Sexual Violence Agency has decried the rise in cases of sexual abuse in the state, following the arrest of a lecturer over allegations of having unlawful sexual intercourse with his biological daughter in the state.
The Executive Secretary for the agency, Titilola Vivour-Adeniyi, in a statement, said the agency knew about the development when the victim’s mother reported the case to officials of the agency.
The statement said, “The case was reported by the mother of the victim to the agency in January 2023. According to the information the DSVA gathered, the last abuse happened on December 30, 2022.
“During the court proceedings at Ogba, the mother of the victim allegedly said that her husband had stopped being intimate with her since 2018 and anytime she tried to address it, it always resulted in him physically assaulting her.
“The lecturer was arraigned before Magistrate B. V. Osunsanmi on February 3, 2023, at the Samuel Ilori Magistrate Court 1, Ogba, for allegedly defiling his 10-year-old biological daughter and was also alleged to have been having carnal knowledge of her since 2018.
He was charged on two counts of defilement and sexual assault by penetrations which were contrary to and punishable under Sections 137 and 261 of the Criminal Law of Lagos State, 2015.”
Vivour-Adeniyi said the defendant’s plea was not taken, adding that the court ruled that the perpetrator be remanded at the Kirikiri Correctional Centre, pending the Directorate of Public Prosecutions’ legal advice.
Vivour-Adeniyi, however, urged residents to continue to break the culture of silence by reporting cases of abuse, stressing that all forms of abuse were crimes against the state.
She said holistic support would be made available to survivors as perpetrators would be made to face the full wrath of the law.