The founder of a non-governmental organisation, Jephath Ighodaro, has been arrested by operatives of the Lagos State Police Command, Ikeja, for allegedly defiling his twin sons.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the 37-year-old suspect was arrested in the Aguda, Surulere area of the state by the police and some officials of the Lagos State Office of the Public Defender.
A source told our correspondent that the case was reported by the suspect’s wife after the two boys, aged four, fondled her breasts in an “adult way.”
The source said the woman became alarmed when she saw the twins attempting to make love to each other, adding that when she queried them, they said their father had been doing the same thing to them.
He said,
“The woman and the suspect got married over four years ago. The woman came from a family that is not well to do, while the man came from a rich family.
“The woman said throughout their marriage, the man only made love to her about six times. The woman suspected that something was wrong with him as he abandoned her sexually.
“She said she could not cry out because she was afraid. She raised the issue with the suspect’s sister who lives abroad and she dismissed it. The man’s family asked her to keep quiet. She lived with the husband in a flat in their family house.”
The source said one of the twin boys was diagnosed with a hole in the heart and was flown to India for treatment.
After a corrective surgery, the boy was said to have recovered.
“Meanwhile, before the boy went to India for the surgery, the man had left the house. When they returned from India, the man took the boys away from their mother.
“The woman did not move out of the house. After two years, the man started bringing the boys to the family house for weekends. He brought them every two weeks.
“On one of the occasions, she said the boys wanted to sleep with each other. Then at another time, they started fondling her breasts in an adult way. She questioned them and they confessed that their father had been sodomising them. They also alleged that he brought men to the house, who also sodomised them,” the source added.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the matter was reported to the OPD, which started an investigation into it.
A source at the government agency said the children were taken to the Mirabel Medical Centre, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, where tests were carried out on them.
The result of the tests reportedly showed that the children had forceful penetration in their anuses.
“On the day the children were brought to the OPD for interviews, they claimed that their father sodomised them that day as well. After the result of the tests from Mirabel was released, the case was sent to the Gender Unit of the Lagos State Police Command Ikeja,” the source said.
A police source said the victims gesticulated how the act was performed by their father when they were interviewed by the police.
He noted that although the suspect denied the allegation, he would be arraigned on Friday (today).
The Lagos State police spokesperson, CSP Chike Oti, said the suspect was in custody and would face prosecution, adding that the state Commissioner of Police, Edgal Imohimi, was interested in the case.
The Director of the OPD, Mrs Olayinka Adeyemi, said the government would pursue the case to a logical end.
She said,
“We find it unacceptable and shocking that a father could abuse his own children; two beautiful sons. This shows that sexual abuse is not just about the girl-child; the boy-child is also endangered.
“While we were interviewing the children, they went to the toilet about three times; we are afraid that their bladders may have been affected. We have asked that further tests be conducted on them.
“We also discovered that he has an NGO that claims to be empowering youths. And the NGO has a lot of youths and that was why we got the gender unit of the police command involved because the NGO may be a scam through which young and innocent boys are being lured. To his end, we have written the state Commissioner of Police for further investigation.”
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
