How I was raped by my teacher – A Nine-year-old pupil

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 in 2010. 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.

Are there no more matured ladies or why are these peadophiles on the increase? I suggest a stiffer punishment on them.