Chief Magistrate Felicitas Amanze of Port Harcourt Magistrate Court, has remanded in prison custody, Wigoh Enuolara, father of the raped twelve year-old-girl for allegedly collecting eight hundred thousand naira (800,000) naira from one Collins Azunna, the 39-year-old man alleged to have defiled the little girl.
Edwin Woka, Counsel to the suspect told the court that the victim’s father had collected 800,000 naira from the family of the suspect, adding that the suspect was only charged to court for refusal to be extorted further by the father of the victim.
Counsel E.B Igwe holding watching brief for the nominal complainant, Wigoh Enuolara, informed the court that according to his client, he did not agree to the settlement, but the Investigating Police Officer at Eleme Police Division pressured his client.
Also Wigoh Enuolara, father of the defiled victim claimed that the Investigating Police Officer, one Rita at Eleme Police Division deceived him to collect the 800,000 naira at the Police Station, when he told her that his daughter had serious health challenge as a result of the rape and he needed money to save his daughter’s life.
Chief Magistrate Amanze, after going through the case files of the accused and nominal complainant at Eleme Police Division and State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID) noted that there is a document showing that the father of the victim collected money and wrote withdrawal letter at Eleme Police Division.
Chief Magistrate ordered the accused Collins Azunna and the father of the victim to be remanded at Port Harcourt Correctional Centre and adjourned to 13 January, 2022.
The accused and the father of the girl are expected to be arraigned on the adjournment date.
Meanwhile, Prince Wiro of the Centre For Basic Rights Protection and Accountability Campaign who has been following up the matter welcomed the decision of the court and frowned at the practice where parents/guardians of defilement survivors collect money from accused in guise of settlement.
He said the decision of the Court will send warning signal to parents/guardians who may want to toil the same path.
On her part, Esther Achor-Korienta of FIDA Rivers, said the decision of the court will serve as deterrent to others .
