Ugochukwu Okparanta and Gloria
Thirty-three-year
old Ugochukwu Okparanta, a trader who allegedly raped a 16-year-old
girl living with him and got her pregnant, has been arrested by
policemen from the Shasha Police Division, Akowonjo, Lagos.
Saturday PUNCH’s report on the
case on November 14, 2014 chronicled the account of 16-year-old Gloria
(not real name) on a sexual abuse which she alleged took place over the
course of four years when she was living with Okparanta. She eventually
became pregnant and gave birth to a baby boy in September.
The trader was arrested following a
report by the child rights activist handling the case, Mrs. Esther Ogwu,
on Tuesday. He was released on bail the following day.
Okparanta at his arrest begged the girl’s family for mercy, promising to take care of the young mother and her child.
“Please, forgive me,” he said. “I admit
that I am responsible for the pregnancy. But I can assure you that I
will pay N40,000 every month to take care of the child.”
Okparanta whose relations joined him in
appealing for leniency, said what he did was truly bad but that they
would ensure he takes full responsibility for the child and mother.
Okparanta made a statement at the police
station, He also signed an agreement that he would not default in
paying the agreed money monthly.
However, Ogwu, said the agreement he had signed with the police was not enough to let him off the hook.
She said, “He still has a case to answer
with the office of public defender. If he has signed an agreement at
the police station, he still has to sign another at the OPD.
“At the moment, we are concerned about
the upkeep of the baby, but we cannot determine who would take custody
of the child until OPD takes a decision on it. But I think the family of
the girl are going to be in charge of the child for now.”
The Divisional Crime Officer at Shasha,
who spoke under the condition of anonymity, said the sum of N480,000,
representing the agreed monetary support for the next one year had been
paid to Gloria’s family.
“That is their wish. Whatever was paid
to the family has nothing to do with us. We would never handle any money
on the family’s behalf. The family of the victim only called me on the
phone to indicate that the man had paid for the next one year,” she
said.
Saturday PUNCH learnt that the
police had decided to charge Okparanta to court but the family of the
victim begged on behalf of the suspect to have the matter settled out of
court.
The OPD lawyer assigned to Gloria’s
case, Mrs. Toun Akingboye, told our correspondent that whatever
agreement reached with the police was not adequate.
“If he has signed an undertaking with
the police, he still needs to sign one in our office, which we will take
to the court. That is to ensure that if he decides to default from
whatever agreement is reached, he can be brought to book legally.
“But at the moment, we will soon meet with both parties to ensure that the interest of the girl and her child is considered.
Comments
Post a Comment