A 49-year-old man, Amoda Bola, who was arrested by the Ogun State Police Command for allegedly raping his 14-year-old daughter, tells DAUD OLATUNJI about the case
What do you do for a living?
I work as a dry cleaner in Ishara. I live in the Ishara area of Remo-North.
How many children do you have?
I have five children.
What is the position of the one who accused you of raping and impregnating her?
She is my fourth child.
Does her mother stay with you?
I divorced her mother after she gave birth to the girl (victim). She has been married to another man in Ilorin. I do not have a wife presently. But I used to have a girlfriend.
How did you manage to raise the girl after you divorced your wife and she left you?
The girl was kept in the custody of her maternal grandmother. I sponsored her education for a while before the grandmother stopped me from seeing my child at her school. She started staying with me three years ago. She decided to live with me when she came on a holiday visit to her mother’s sister’s residence. I told her not to return to her grandmother because she told me that her grandmother had not been paying her school fees. Thereafter, I enrolled her in a school and she stayed.
Did you find your daughter sexually attractive to you?
She was not attractive to me. It’s forbidden to be attracted to one’s daughter.
Your daughter alleged that you raped her and also invited some men to rape her as well. What can you say about it?
I didn’t invite men to have sexual intercourse with my child. I didn’t know those men before now. I only met them when everything was exposed. They never set foot in my house. They had intercourse with her in their various homes; not in my house.
Is it true that you slept with her?
Yes.
How many times did you sleep her?
I had intercourse with her four times. Twice last year and twice this year.
What prompted you to do that?
I still can’t believe I did such. It still looks like I’m seeing a movie. I have never done anything to her elder ones.
Who did you deflower her?
I didn’t deflower her. She was not a virgin when it happened.
So, how did it happen?
It happened when I came back from work. She was alone at home with me. So, I told her to bring my food. I didn’t know when I grabbed her and had intercourse with her.
What did she do?
She did not want to fight me. She cried afterwards and asked why I did that to her. Then I pleaded with her to forgive me. It saddens me that I committed such a great sin. A month after that, it happened the second time. I mean I had intercourse with her the second time, with no protest from her.
The third occurrence happened in July this year (2022). I told her to wait for me in my room after she fetched water for me to shower. But I later changed my mind. I didn’t join her in the room. She came to ask why I was hesitating to come inside the house. Afterwards, something in me asked why I was wasting time, so I went in with her and it happened again.
Where were your other children when you were committing the act?
They were not aware. It happened while they were at the shop. We don’t share the same room.
How old is her pregnancy?
I don’t know. I didn’t even know she was pregnant. I was informed after my arrest.
Do you realise that what you did is a taboo in Yoruba culture?
I know, and I regret it. It is a terrible thing to do. It’s still a mystery to me.
Are you sure she is your biological daughter?
She is my daughter. I’m her father. Though she didn’t live with me from the start, she came back to live with me three years ago when she was 11 years old. She lived with her maternal grandmother before then.
You said you had a girlfriend. Where is she?
I used to have a girlfriend but the relationship ended in July when my daughter told her I didn’t like her. I told my girlfriend everything when she confronted me about it and she stopped communicating with me.
You also said your daughter was not a virgin and that some men slept with her on different occasions. Has she ever had an abortion?
Yes. Five months ago, I took her to the hospital where a pregnancy was aborted. The pregnancy was a month old when I discovered she was pregnant. So, I asked if she would keep the pregnancy or abort it so she could continue her education and she suggested an abortion. I paid for the abortion. The doctor demanded N13,000 but I paid N10,000.
How will you describe the character of your daughter?
She is gentle but stubborn. She is well exposed as well.
What do you mean by saying she is exposed?
She is exposed. Even her mother can testify to it. Her mother had told me that I had to handle her with an iron hand if she would have to live with me because she is wayward.
Did you know your daughter had a boyfriend?
I was unaware until after the arrest. But her siblings did complain that she took her time to return home when she was sent on errands. I always warned her whenever I got the report about her waywardness. But I was always careful not to hurt her since she was the only daughter from her mother’s side.
Why didn’t you make the man that got her pregnant to take responsibility for his action?
I couldn’t marry her off because she was still a pupil and I wanted her to be educated. That was why I opted for an abortion.
How did you feel when you learnt some men had carnal knowledge of your daughter?
I always felt terrible about it. Whenever I got such information, I went ahead to warn them to never get intimate with my daughter again. I only warned them because I believe in forgiveness.
You said what happened was a mystery to you. Did you seek help?
Yes, I did seek help from a herbalist and he told me it was a spiritual issue. He told me to make a sacrifice which I did. I made the sacrifice just the Sunday before my arrest.
