How 9yr old pupil was raped by a teacher

A nine-year-old pupil of Sunshine Nursery and Primary School, Ile-Ife, Osun State, (name withheld) has narrated before a High Court sitting in Ife how she was allegedly raped by her teacher, Mr. Francis Ijiwande.

At the hearing on Friday, the pupil alleged that Ijiwande had  forceful carnal knowledge of her.

The pupil told the court that the teacher accosted her when she was urinating behind her classroom and subsequently raped her on the school premises – after the school hours.

 But the teacher restated his innocence before the court, stressing that he did not commit the crime.

The pupil told the Justice O Siyanbola-led court that, “Mr. Ijiwande was my teacher in primary four. I was in primary five when he raped me. When I was urinating behind the classroom, I saw uncle (Ijiwande) standing at my front.

“As I was urinating, uncle pushed me down. He removed my pant and threw it away. I shouted for help but no one came to my rescue. Uncle removed his trousers and boxer. He then lay on me and removed his private part and put it inside my private part.

“I felt the pains in my thigh and back when uncle was on me. Uncle did not stay long on me. I also felt the pains after uncle stood up. I managed to stand up and stay with my younger brothers, who were waiting for my father at the front of my school.”

When asked if she told her parents her ordeal, the victim replied, “I did not tell my parents because Uncle Ijiwande threatened to kill me. I only complained of back and thigh pains. My parents gave me Paracetamol, (a pain reliever), but the pains persisted.”

She explained that her mother discovered the fate that had befallen her four days later when the pains did not subside, adding that she was subsequently taken to a hospital.

The victim said, “My mother called me in the evening and ordered me to remove my pant. She discovered something like mucus and clotted blood at my private part. My mother shouted and she started crying. My father woke and we all prayed together and we went to sleep.

“The day, my parents took me to a hospital. A doctor conducted a test on me. We later went to a police station where I made statement on what Uncle Ijiwande did to me and he was arrested.

“Two policemen followed me to where uncle raped me. My parents and Aunty Bisi, the proprietress of the school, also followed us. Aunty Bisi called me aside and told me not to mention uncle Ijiwande’s name again. She told me the police would kill him and that I would not see him again.”

Testifying before the court, a Professor of Gynecology, Orji Okechukwu, who conducted a test on the victim, confirmed that the pupil was actually raped.

Okechukwu accused the police of lack of diligent prosecution, saying they failed to conduct a test on the girl and the accused when the matter was reported.

The gynaecologist said he refused to release the result of the test he conducted on the victim and the specimen he took, alleging that the police thereafter began to threaten him.

However, the prosecuting counsel, Mr. Moses Faremi, prayed the court to adjourn the case for further hearing, saying he was not healthy.

Justice Siyanbola granted Faremi’s prayer and adjourned the matter till April 18, 2012, for further hearing