An Evbuoriaria magistrate court in Benin city, on Thursday, sentenced a 52-year-old herbalist, Jacob Alonge, from Ososo in Akoko-Edo local government area of Edo state to 21 years in prison for raping and impregnating his 17-year-old daughter, Gift Alonge, who is now late.
He was sentenced on three count charges of unlawful possession of fetish wrap of the victims’ pubic hair as well as repeated sexual assault.
The victim, late Gift, who was five months pregnant, and four others who were helping to prosecute the case, died in a fatal motor accident on January 16 this year, when they were travelling to Benin for the judgment. Other victims in the accident were: Miss Rhoda Braimoh, Miss Promise Ezekiel, staff of a non-governmental organisation; BraveHeart Initiative for Youth and Women (BHI), which has been helping in prosecuting the case, the victim’s maternal uncle, Mr Ukere Adagbogu, and the driver of the vehicle.
In her ruling, the magistrate; D.I Adamaigbo (Mrs) sentenced Jacob Alonge to five years, two years and 14 years respectively on the three count charges and they are to run consecutively.
According to her, “He consecutively had sex with her who is his own daughter and got her pregnant and thereby subjected her to shame and emotional stress, may her soul rest in peace. This will serve as deterrent to others, and would be offenders, we are of the opinion that the defendant should not have a space in a decent society.”
The magistrate further said the statement of the victim and the evidence of the PW1 confirmed what the victim said that “She was five months pregnant and that she was demoralised, emotionally distressed is sufficient corroboration that the victim was indeed sexually assaulted .
“It has been established beyond reasonable doubt that the accused had canal knowledge of the victim as she said in her statement ‘My father by name Jacob Alonge used to wake me up at night and said I should follow him for prayers when we reach inside the bush, he will force me and have sexual intercourse with me, then in the second statement which she made at the state police headquarters, she stated and I quote ‘last year which is 2017 my father by name Joseph Alonge has been having sex with me, he threatened me not to tell anybody and if I do, he will kill me’ she stated further in the same statement that ‘one night he called me and put me on top of a stone and used razor blade to shave my private body and threatened me not to tell anybody’ this was corroborated by the statement of the police in evidence.
“The convict admitted in his statement that he was lured into the crime by his own daughter is an afterthought We therefore find him guilty of each of the counts.”
Reacting to the judgment, Executive Director of Braveheart Initiative for Youth and Woman, Priscilla Usiobaifo said; “We have seen how resilience can prove a worthwhile. I am very happy that there is no option of fine because we have had several cases that we won and they will give options of fine and this has encouraged us and those that died did not die in vain”.
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