A 47 year old randy father Emmanuel Thompson Udo,has been sentenced to 22 years imprisonment, without option of a fine, for raping his 14-year-old daughter, in Calabar, Cross Rivers State
Penpushing reports that the man committed the crime at his residence in Calabar, later arrested and subsequently arraigned before a family court in the state by the police following a petition from a Non-Governmental Organisation, Basic Rights Counsel Initiative, after the man’s wife reported his incestuous act to the organisation.
The Acting Chief Judge of Cross River State, Justice Eyo Ita, convicted the man for rape, and in response to the judgement, the principal partner of the Basic Rights Counsel Initiative, James Ibor, commended the mother of the victim for the bold step to have sought for help over the incident
“I want to use this opportunity to commend first, the mother of the child who was bold to seek help by contacting us at the Basic Rights Counsel Initiative, I want to commend the police that carried out a thorough investigation,” he said.
“I want to also commend the attorney general and commissioner for justice, and the members of his office, for the way he conducted the prosecution, I want to commend my staff for providing psychosocial support to the child throughout the period of the proceedings. Above all, I want to commend the acting Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Eyo Ita for the judgment.”
Penpushing further reports that, Ibor said the ruling would serve as a deterrent to paedophiles, adding, “the truth is that rape has not been on the increase (in Nigeria), the reporting has increased.
“If you do a thorough investigation you’ll discover that we have a culture of rape, and that explains why somebody would ask you can a man rape his wife. If you have sex without the consent of your wife, it means rape has taken place,” he said.
Penpushing also reports that, the principal partner of the Basic Rights Counsel Initiative said the judgement was a relief to the victim, as well as the society, adding that perpetrators or would-be perpetrators would be deterred by that judgement .
“The survivor has this feeling of justice, ‘yes, the person who did this to me has been punished’. There’s that satisfaction, there’s that relief, and that is justice. The society also has that satisfaction that justice has been done, perpetrators or would-be perpetrators would be deterred by that judgement,” he added.
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