Awka – A 48-year old man, Thomas Igbo who was arrested for allegedly defiling his three female children has confessed to the crime.
The suspect who is from Ikolo, Igbo-Etiti Local Government Area of Enugu State made the confession on Monday when he was paraded by the Anambra State Command of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps, NSCDC.
TNC correspondent gathered that Mr Igbo, who is resident in Enugwu-Ukwu, Njikoka Local Government Area with his wife and four kids, was suspected to have consistently sexually abused his three female children aged eight years, four years and eighteen months.
He was said to have been the only occupant of a building after he successively prevented other tenants from occupying the same property by telling lies against them to the owner of the building.
More investigation revealed that the wife of the suspect who also lives with him, is ill with epilepsy which had affected her mental state.
Trouble had started when a female tenant eventually moved into the compound and started noticing the sacrilegious activities of Mr Igbo.
The suspect confessed to sexually abusing his eldest daughter but totally denied molesting the remaining two although his four year old daughter confirmed the molestation to a human rights group, Child Protection Network who facilitated the arrest.
According to the suspect, he had only had intercourse with the eight year old girl once and blamed his action on alcohol influence.
“I have only had intercourse with my first daughter but I never touched my other daughters. I can only blame the act on alcohol but it was only once that I had sex with my daughter,” he said without remorse.
Also a report from the Ntasi Centre, General Hospital Enugwu-Ukwu confirmed that the three children have been molested severally.
Narrating how the ordeal was discovered, Mrs Oluchukwu Chukwuenyem, the Spokesperson for Child Protection Network, reported that the case was brought to their notice after a neighbor noticed the despicable behavior of the man.
According to Mrs Chukwuenyem, who is also the Director of SafeNest, “the daily chore of the man was to sexually harass the children separately on daily basis, mostly between 9pm and 10:30pm. What made the neighbor raise eyebrows was the day he asked them in Pidgin English, “e sweet” to the neighbor’s hearing.
“Immediately we got the information from the neighbour, we went to the school of two of the children aged 8 and 4 and asked them questions and they told us how the man has been defiling them. We went further to the Ntasi centre where the children were checked medically and it was confirmed that their hymen have been ruptured. We then alerted the NSCDC and they brought him to the Enugwu-Ukwu for questioning,” she revealed.
Mrs Chukwuenyem further said they found out that the wife of the suspect was aware of the husband’s escapades but opted to keep mum, thereby giving the man the leverage to continue in his nefarious activities.
Parading the suspect, the State NSCDC Commandant, NSCDC, Mr David Billie said the investigation by the Corps has gone far and the suspect will be charged to Court immediately the Judiciary Staff Union of Nigeria, JUSUN who has been on strike over Judiciary autonomy returns to work and the court resumes full activities.
“Based on report that we received that the man has sexually harassing his children, we moved in to apprehend the suspect. He will face the full wrath of the law immediately the courts open,” Bille said.
He harped on the need for parents to always look out for their children to ensure that they do not fall victim to such persons.
